QPR vs Arsenal: Team News, Likely Line-ups & Predicted Score

Arsenal head across London to face Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon looking to make it eight straight league victories.

A comfortable 3-0 win over Aston Villa last weekend made it seven league wins on the bounce and moved us three points clear of fourth-placed Tottenham, who drew 0-0 with Chelsea. Another win over relegation-threatened QPR would make it 8 straight league wins, which hasn’t happened since 2004.

Despite beating Liverpool 3-2 in their last home fixture, QPR are on a terrible run having won just two of their previous 18 league games. A run that sees them currently sitting in 18th position and the threat of relegation is a distinct possibility for them.

Team news

Mark Hughes will be without striker Djibril Cisse, who was sent off for the second time in just 12 weeks following his January move and will now start a four-match ban.

Heidar Helguson is in line to return to the squad after recovering from a groin injury and Clint Hill is also available. Hughes must decide whether to recall captain Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Philips after leaving them out last week against Sunderland.

Alejandro Faurlin and Kieron Dyer remain out and Federico Macheda has returned to Man Utd with an ankle injury.

Arsene Wenger will assess the fitness of defender Laurent Koscielny ahead of the game after the defender pulled out of last weeks game against Villa during the warm up with a knee complaint. We should know more this afternoon when the boss has done his weekly press conference, but the signs are Kos will be fit to start and continue his impressive partnership with TV5.

Abou Diaby is pushing for a place in the squad after coming through a reserves game unscathed. Andre Santos, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey are also hoping to return to the starting line-up after all coming off the bench last week, but Wenger is unlikely to shake things up to much with the team playing so well.

He did hint last weekend that Robin van Persie needed a ‘rest’ but i’m hoping that meant a day off training and not leaving him out this weekend, because bringing in Marouanne Chamakh is suicide.

Jack Wilshere and Per Mertesacker remain on the sidelines.

Likely Line-ups

Predicted Score

Arsenal are flying, QPR are in free-fall. The form book suggests an away win but we all know football doesn’t work that way. Liverpool were 2-0 and cruising against QPR and Mark Hughes’ team showed they are up for the fight by scoring three late goals.

But we’re showing a type of resilience in recent weeks that’s been lacking for years and the defence has, dare i say it, looked pretty solid! So as long as the team defends as a unit like they have recently, i can see us coming through this with a ninth straight victory. QPR 0-2 Arsenal.

What are your thoughts on the game? Get involved in the comments section….