Both Aston Villa and QPR have struggled this season and now, games are running out and points are at a premium. Villa will be without Alan Hutton, Scott Sinclair and Ashley Westwood while QPR are missing Eduardo Vargas and Yun Suk-Young as Saturdays win didn’t come without a cost.
For QPR a win against Villa will see them leapfrog their hosts, who themselves will slip into the relegation zone. If Villa were eventually to go down that would be the first time they would be out of the top flight for almost three decades, which is about the same time since QPR have beaten Villa home and away in a single season.
The two sides have faced each other forty three times in the league with QPR winning almost half, although using specifically games at Villa’s home ground then things are much tighter. Of the twenty one League games played at Villa Park the home side have won nine, QPR have won seven, the last one coming back in a pre Premier League 1991-92 season.
Almost thirty years (minus twenty days) to the day, 27th April 1985, Villa would host Queens Park Rangers and win 5-2. That win put Villa up to tenth and left QPR in fifteenth. Both would go on to survive that season also, Villa ending up seven points above relegation, QPR just the single point.
Both sides have very tough run ins with the visitors facing Chelsea and West Ham at home before traveling to Liverpool and Manchester City heading into May. Villa have it just as bad though, away games to Tottenham and Manchester City and an FA Cup Semi Final distraction in between. With that in mind, and the current position, I think both sides will take that 1985 final league position right now if you were to offer it again I am sure.
Jason is a Freelance Soccer Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @PACityboy and www.facebook.com/jasonbardwell1979
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