QPR travel to Villa Park on Tuesday having turned on the style at West Brom, beating them 4-1 on Saturday, only their second away win of the season. Villa’s form has been a bit up and down under Sherwood, having lost each of their last 2 games after that resounding 4-0 win over Sunderland. Â A win would put Villa clear of the relegation zone but a defeat would put them level with QPR on 28 points. QPR won 2-0 when the two sides met back in October with Charlie Austin scoring both the goals.
Team News
Aston Villa
Scott Sinclair, Chris Herd, Kieran Richardson, Aly Cissokho and Philippe Senderos are all sidelined while Tom Cleverley is available for selection. Alan Hutton took a knock in the game against Manchester United and he is expected to sit this one out. Nathan Baker returned from injury with a substitute appearance and he could be fit to start.
Queens Park Rangers
Leroy Fer, Richard Dunne and Alejandro Faurlin still remain injured with no new casualties.
Interesting Numbers
- QPR have just 3 points from their last 6 games as opposed to Villa who have  collected 6.
- The two teams have cancelled each other on 3 occasions in their last 5 meetings having won a game each.
- Villa have only found the net 20 times this season – the lowest in the Premier League.
- 7 of Charlie Austin’s 16 goals this season have come away from home.
Last 5 Meetings
Oct 27, 14 – Â QPR 2-0 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Mar 16, 14 – Aston Villa 3-2 QPR (Premier League)
Dec 01, 13 – QPR 1-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Feb 01, 13 – Aston Villa 2-2 QPR (Premier League)
Sep 25, 12 – QPR 1-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Key Men
Christian Benteke – Aston Villa
It’s been that kind of a season for Benteke and Villa where goals have been hard to come by. Having returned from injury, Benteke has found it hard to find the back of the net having scored only 7 times this season. However, Â the big Belgian has found some form recently having scored thrice in his last 3 games and Villa would once again depend on him to produce the goals.
Charlie Austin – QPR
Charlie Austin has been in fine form this season having netted 16 times in 30 appearances. He sits 4th on the goal scorers chart only behind the likes of Costa, Aguero and fellow Englishman Harry Kane. He has scored 45.7 % of Rangers’ goals this season and he’ll be looking to add to his tally after having found the net again this Saturday, against WBA.
Prediction
Villa at home and QPR coming off a brilliant win in the weekend. One would be inclined to go with a narrow win for QPR Â but a draw is a more likely result in this one.
