Cardiff lost ground in the promotion race last Saturday with a narrow defeat at Ninian Park against league leaders Wolves. More worryingly for the Bluebirds were the injuries picked up by star strikers Ross McCormack and Jay Bothroyd, Simon Glanville takes a look at how our next game will shape up against Q.P.R. at Loftus Road this weekend.
Early Cardiff team news: Dave Jones has moved quickly to arrange cover for McCormack and Bothroyd by making every City fan happy with the capture of former Bluebird Michael Chopra. The Sunderland striker will be returning to Ninian Park for two months to plug the gap up front and will go straight into contention for Saturday's game.
Chopra has been brought in to boost the striking department because both McCormack and Bothroyd picked up hamstring injuries in the game against Wolves. Ross will be out for up to four weeks while Jay's injury will keep him out for double the time of his striking partner. Eddie Johnson will be hoping he can force his way into the Dave's plans.
Mark Kennedy, Tony Capaldi and Riccy Scimeca remain on the mid-term injury list and are unlikely to be involved for another couple of weeks.
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Early Q.P.R. team news: Mikele Leigertwood will miss the game through suspension after being sent-off for Rangers in their last home game against Birmingham. The club had appealed his dismissal but have been unsuccessful, with the ban increased from three games to four.
Striker Patrick Agyemang may be in contention after an outing for the reserves on Wednesday night. He has been missing for The Hoops in recent weeks due to a pelvic strain but may play a part on Saturday.
Q.P.R.'s season so far: Usually when a club sacks a manger it is a desperate measure, but Iain Dowie found himself out of a job despite taking Rangers up to 9th in the league. Expectation at Loftus Road is massive with new big-money owners, and Dowie's reign was brought to an abrupt end after an inconsistent start.
The season started well for the Hoops with a win over Barnsley at Loftus Road. Defeat at Sheffield United followed but wins over Doncaster, Southampton and Norwich and a point at Bristol City put The Hoops in a strong position after five games.
It then went downhill for Dowie as defeats to Coventry, Derby and Birmingham and only a point at home to Blackpool got the owners ready to yield the axe. Despite then beating Forest and earning a credible point at Swansea, Dowie was shown the door and Gareth Ainsworth has since taken over as caretaker. He has taken The Hoops up to 7th with four points from three games in charge, a draw at Reading, a win against Birmingham at home and defeat in their last game at Ipswich.
Rangers are also still in the Carling Cup and have a mouthwatering tie against Manchester United to look forward to after getting past Swindon, Carlisle and Premiership Aston Villa.
Last meeting: The Bluebirds should go into the game against Q.P.R. with some confidence after taking six points off The Hoops last term. At the beginning of last season Cardiff won comfortably in London, with goals from Steve MacLean and Paul Parry enough to secure a 2-0 win. In the return fixture at Ninian Park in January, City again came out on top by a two goal margin. This time the score was 3-1, with a brace from Joe Ledley and another from Parry putting us firmly in control. Patrick Agyemang did grab a late consolation for the visitors, but they could not find a way back against Cardiff's strong defence.
Teams from last meeting at Ninian Park on 29th January 2008:
Bluebirds: Oakes (Enckelman 79), McNaughton, Capaldi, Johnson, Loovens, Rae, Whittingham (Blake 88), Ledley, Ramsey, Parry, Hasselbaink (Thompson 89). Subs not used: Purse, Sinclair.
Q.P.R.: Camp, Delaney, Stewart, Connolly (Blackstock 45), Hall (Mancienne 38), Mahon, Buzsaky (Ephraim 61), Rowlands, Leigertwood, Vine, Agyemang. Subs not used: Lee, Crowther.
Attendance: 13,602.
Q.P.R. last time out: Rangers won't host Cardiff in the best of form after losing out at Ipswich in their last game. Two John Stead goals were enough to give The Tractor Boys all three points, but it could have been a different story. Q.P.R. dominated early on and hit the bar through Lee Cook. Home keeper Richard Wright also saved from Martin Rowlands and Daniel Parejo. But Town improved in the second half and it was left to Stead to take the plaudits, with two goals in three minutes coming in last quarter of the game.
Q.P.R.: Cerny, Delaney, Stewart, Hall, Connolly, Parejo, Rowlands, Tommasi, Cook, Di Carmine (Blackstock 57), Buzsaky (Ledesma 68). Subs not used: Cole, Mahon, Gorkss.
