QPR will be desperately looking for three points to aid in their survival battle at the bottom of the Premier League when they host Everton in the late kick-off on Sunday afternoon.
Rangers currently sit second bottom of the table three points ahead of fellow strugglers Leicester City but more crucially four points adrift of safety. This match will be the first of three matches which could prove pivotal to their survival with West Brom and Aston Villa following after Everton’s visit. Form will need to change drastically however having not won at home in the last three months, not won a game in a month and a bit and have lost their last four matches.
This could be the home side’s best opportunity of a win against an Everton side who are both physically and emotionally. A 3-0 victory over Newcastle last Sunday gave Roberto Martinez’s side some confidence ahead of their trip to Ukraine, however the second leg of their Europa League clash was major disappointment crashing out of the competition after a 5-2 thrashing by Dynamo Kiev. An easy 3-1 victory over their hosts in the reverse fixture will give some hope to repeating the same here, but another slip up here could throw the toffees right back into the relegation mix.
Chris Ramsey will be sweating over the fitness of midfielder Joey Barton who returned from suspension but picked a slight knock in training during the week. Alejandro Faurlin, Richard Dunne, Leroy Fer and Mauricio Isla are all long term absences while Darnell Furlong who was forced off against Crystal Palace last week could sit out. Veteran defender Rio Ferdinand sat out last week’s defeat due to illness but he should be ready to play on Sunday.
Winger Aiden McGeady could return out wide after he sat out of the game on Thursday, Tony Hibbert is a doubt while Steven Pienaar is nearing full fitness but is likely to be missing. Bryan Oviedo and Kevin Mirallas are out with injuries while midfielder Gareth Barry is still serving his suspension.