Darren Bent's back! Do you think it's just to showcase him to QPR, his potential purchasers?
Something else surprising -- Andi Weimann drops to the bench, replaced by Chris Herd. While I think young Andi could use a rest, I'm not sure about this more defensive set-up. But then you look at the cobbled-together defense (dear god, we're starting Eric Lichaj) and think...well, maybe Paul Lambert knows what he's doing.
Queens Park Rangers Starting XI: Robert Green, Armand Traore, Clint Hill, Ryan Nelsen, Jose Bosingwa, Stéphane Mbia, Esteban Granero, Samba Diakite, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Adel Taarabt, Jamie Mackie.
QPR Substitutes (from): Shaun Derry, Anton Ferdinand, Park Ji-Sung, Djibril Cisse, Fabio, Junior Hoilett, Brian Murphy.
Aston Villa Starting XI: Brad Guzan; Matthew Lowton, Ciaran Clark, Nathan Baker, Eric Lichaj, Ashley Westwood; Barry Bannan; Chris Herd, Brett Holman, Gabby Agbonlahor; Christian Benteke.
Villa Substitutes (from): Shay Given, Karim El Ahmadi, Andreas Weimann, Darren Bent, Derrick Williams, Stephen Ireland, Fabian Delph
You know what Villa are missing from their squad? People named Samba. And Fabio. That would be amazing.