Queens Park Rangers vs. Aston Villa: Open Match Thread

QUEENS PARK RANGERS

OVERALL: 0-5-9, 5 pts, -16 GD

POSITION: 20th

LAST 5: D-L-L-L-D

ASTON VILLA

OVERALL: 3-4-7, 13 pts, -11 GD

POSITION: 17th

LAST 5: W-D-L-L-W

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

• It's become pretty clear that Christian Benteke is the most important player on this team in a very important way; he's pretty much the only one that scores goals. Okay, that's not entirely fair, but if Benteke is neutralized then Villa's chances get much slimmer. If QPR can manage to keep the big man in check, their sieve-like defense might not be much of an issue.
• QPR's attacking strength is down the wings, and though Villa's fullbacks have performed quite well this season they're still going to have their hands full. It's tough to see QPR doing much of anything attack-wise if they can't create from wide areas, so if Villa can protect their flanks they'll be in good shape.
• Robert Green is in goal for QPR barring a surprising late recovery by Julio Cesar, which means one thing: shoot on sight. There are a lot of things that can happen if you make Robert Green make saves, and most of them are good.