5 key battles between Newcastle and QPR tonight
With the games coming thick and fast over the next few weeks, Rafa's rotation policy will be in full force for tonight's match against QPR. This makes it difficult to pin down exactly who will be trusted with increasing the gap between the two teams but, if picked, here are the five individual battles that could determine who gets the three points.
Tjaronn Chery doesn’t play as an out and out striker, but the attacking midfielder is still his side's top scorer so far in the Championship. This means it’ll fall to one of our defensive midfielders - most likely to be Hayden given his omission at the weekend - to keep tabs on the Dutchman.
All of Chery’s goals have come from set pieces (three penalties and one free-kick), so keeping him quiet will involve not conceding fouls in and around the penalty area. In fact, all of QPR’s nine goals this season have come from set pieces, so trying not to dive in and give them a chance to go to ground in general makes most sense if we want to continue our run of clean sheets.
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If, as expected, Mitrovic is reinstated to the starting line-up as part of Rafa’s rotation, then his battle against Grant Hall could be crucial to Newcastle getting a positive result at Loftus Road.
The 6ft 3in defender is more than a physical match for Mitro. His ability to hold the ball up under pressure from Hall and allow our attack to take up good positions will be the key to unlocking QPR’s defence.
Whoever plays in the number 10 role - be it Perez, Diame, or Gayle - needs to be quick to support him too so that he can lay the ball off and concentrate on making a nuisance of himself in the box.
Click here to view the next key battle in tonight's game between Newcastle United and QPR.
Newcastle’s former Mr Dependable could be up against a winger who is having a mini resurgence this season, capped by a brilliant strike against Derby on Saturday.
Gouffran’s work rate will be important when it comes to battling the normally reliable Perch. Wearing him down over the first 60 minutes or so before deploying a faster winger - maybe Atsu for his first appearance - could be a strategy deployed by Rafa to try and get something from the game if the scores are still level late on.
Click here to view the next key battle in tonight's game between Newcastle United and QPR.
It’s likely that one of either Shelvey or Colback will return their place in midfield for tonight’s game, despite both putting in a full shift at the weekend. Whichever one plays could be up against former Wolves man Karl Henry: most will remember him for leading the assault against Joey Barton a few years back.
Now 33, the midfielder may have aged since those first battles but he's no less physical on the field. Whichever defensive midfielder Rafa chooses to partner Hayden needs to keep a cool head and not rise to his late challenges and goading. Both central midfield choices aren’t shy when it comes to standing up for themselves, but keeping a cool head - and 11 men on the pitch - will give us more of a chance of taking all three points.
Click here to view the next key battle in tonight's game between Newcastle United and QPR.
There isn’t much love lost between Newcastle fans and former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The striker seemed to have a knack of dumping us out of cup competitions, often striking late in the game after we’d more than held our own. Since retiring in 2008 he’s forged a respectable managerial career which is continuing at QPR.
He likes his teams to play with freedom and creativity, which may test Rafa’s defensive nous given the quick turnaround between games. This is why squad selection will be key and presents an interesting dilemma for a man who famously likes to rotate his squad: stick with the same back four who have proven pretty solid the past few games, or rotate to bring some fresher legs into the starting line-up?
