Match Preview: Sunderland v QPR - Can the Lads keep our good league form going?

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Saturday 13th August 2022

Sunderland v QPR

Championship

Stadium of Light

Kick-Off: 15:00

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Tickets & Match Coverage

Tickets: Tickets are available here.

TV/Stream: Full live match coverage available via www.safc.com to residents outside the UK and Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man only.

Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)

Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.com!

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The build-up...

Although it’s probable Alex Neil won’t shed too many tears over being knocked out of the Carabao Cup in midweek at Hillsborough, he may have one or two concerns about the manner that we went about things on Wednesday.

It was a good chance for those who haven’t had too many minutes so far in the Championship to show Alex Neil that they deserve to be more involved in first team duties in the coming weeks, but for the majority it probably had the opposite impact.

It quite possibly makes Neil’s job that much easier in terms of team selection today, where he may be tempted to stick with the XI that took all three points at Ashton Gate last week.

With four points from six already under our belt, another home fixture today provides a useful opportunity to really gather momentum in the early stages of the season.

Photo by Isaac Parkin/PA Images via Getty Images

Queens Park Rangers are now in the eighth season in the Championship since relegation from the Premier League in 2015. In that time they have finished no higher than 9th and for three of those years finished in the bottom eight of the division.

In some ways it has been an achievement to establish themselves as a Championship club long term following the state of the club when they were relegated. A squad full of overpaid players who didn’t fancy the second tier had to be turned over in quick fashion and six managers in the last seven years at Loftus Road has also added to the general upheaval.

It appeared that Mark Warburton had provided some of that much needed stability last season when they found themselves within touching distance of the play-offs at the turn of the year, but a poor run-in meant they dropped down to 11th, which potentially cost Warburton his job.

They are now under the stewardship of Steven Gerrard’s assistant at Rangers and Aston Villa, Michael Beale, who at 41-years-old is taking his first post as a manager, and it isn’t the easiest of gigs with expectation potentially high after missing out on the top-six last season.

Photo by Rhianna Chadwick/PA Images via Getty Images

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The betting...

The bookies have Sunderland as favourites this afternoon at 11/10 for the win, with QPR priced at 12/5 to pick up all three points and the draw is 23/10.

For a correct score, a 1-1 draw is the shortest odds at 24/5, followed by 6/1 for a 1-0 home win and a 1-0 away victory is close behind at 17/2.

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Head to head... at Sunderland

(All competitions)

• Sunderland wins: 9
• Draws: 5
• QPR wins: 4
• Sunderland goals: 26
• QPR goals: 15

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Last time we met... at the Stadium of Light

Saturday 14th October 2017

Sky Bet Championship

Stadium of Light

Sunderland 1-1 Queens Park Rangers

[McGeady 61’ - Sylla 37’]

Sunderland: Steele, Matthews, Jones, O’Shea, Oviedo, Honeyman (Williams), Cattermole, Ndong, McGeady, Watmore (McManaman), Vaughan (Grabban) Substitutes not used: Ruiter, Love, Gibson

QPR: Smithies, Wszolek (Osayi-Samuel), Manning, Baptiste, Lynch, Bidwell, Scowen, Mackie (Washington), Sylla, Freeman, Luongo Substitutes not used: Lumley, Furlong, Wheeler, N’Gbakoto, Smith

Attendance: 26,066

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Played for both...

Djibril Cisse

After breaking through at Auxerre, Cisse moved to Liverpool in 2004 for around £14 million, but a freak injury put the breaks on his time at Anfield resulting in move back to France with Marseille in 2007.

It was from Marseille that he joined the Lads on loan for a season in 2008-09, which was followed by short stops at a whole host of clubs including Panathinaikos, Lazio and Queens Park Rangers.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Newcastle United via Getty Images

Danny Dichio

London-born Dichio began his career at QPR in the 1990s before a surprise move to Sampdoria in 1997. Having only made a handful of appearances in his first year, Peter Reid stepped in and brought him to the Stadium of Light in 1998.

He spent three years with the Lads before moving onto West Bromwich Albion, which was followed with spells with Millwall, Preston North End and Toronto FC before he retired in 2009.

Photo by Owen Humphreys - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

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