Match Day Thread QPR v Northampton - Carabao Cup

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Date/time: Tuesday, August 8, 7.45pm kick-off

Venue: Loftus Road

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Forecast: 16C, showers

Outs and doubts: QPR: Grant Hall (tendonitis), Jordan Cousins (hamstring).

Cobblers: John-Joe O’Toole (groin), Brendan Moloney (hamstring), Shaun McWilliams (ankle), Sam Hoskins (knee), Sam Foley (ankle)

Betting: QPR 8/15, draw 3/1, Northampton 5/1

Likely line-ups: QPR: Ingram, Furlong, Onuoha, Lynch, Robinson, Borysiuk, Manning, Goss, Ngbakoto, Smith, Sylla.

Northampton: Cornell, Barnett, A Taylor, Poole, Phillips, Kasim, Crooks, Smith, Waters, Revell, Long

Man in the middle: Charles Breakspear

Last time out: QPR 2 (Washington 2) Reading 0;
Shrewsbury 1 (John-Lewis) Northampton 0

Most recent meeting: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 – QPR 3 (Cook, Gallen, Jones) Northampton 2 (Watt, Kirk)

Record v QPR: P65 W30 D9 L26

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Ian Holloway

Ian Holloway believes Northampton Town will provide a very different test for his QPR side to the one posed by Reading on the opening day of the Championship campaign on Saturday.

The R’s host the League One side at Loftus Road in the first round of the Carabao Cup following an impressive 2-0 win over the Royals three days ago.

But Holloway is already putting that performance to the back of his mind as he focuses on the Cobblers.

“It’s the next performance that matters, the last one has gone now,” the R’s chief told QPR.Co.Uk

“You’ve got to get on with what you are going to do next.

“On Saturday, things went for us but I believe we made them go for us with the way that we worked for each other.

“We were dominant with what we were trying to do – which was trying to win it off them, press and play off of that higher up the pitch. It’s something I wanted us to try and do, and it is something we are working on.

“We never gave them a second to dwell on the ball, which is what we want. I want my players to know that that’s the bare minimum, chasing and working hard like that.

“Tonight’s game will be totally different. Northampton will have a different setup and won’t try to play the way Reading did, it will be a totally different style and we are going to have to deal with that.”

Holloway is eager to see his QPR side progress in the cup, and has explained how personnel changes this evening will be with a view to handling the test Northampton will pose.

“The team I selected for the Reading game won’t be the same as the one I pick for tonight because of the style of the team we are up against, we have to take that into account,” he explained.

“Who have I got to unsettle their style and hurt their style? That’s how we have to approach the game, but hopefully the team I pick will still have the same DNA when it comes to working hard for the shirt.

Holloway confirmed new arrival Alex Baptiste will be on the bench tonight, while Steven Caulker is set to make his first senior start for ten months.

“Alex is someone I know really well, and he will add to this group with his determination and his tenacity. He’s a winner, he wants to win,” Holloway said.

“Steven Caulker will be looking to get through 90 minutes for us, which is fantastic.”

As Holloway eyes a place in round two, he added: “I want us to get used to winning, and believing that we can win.

“That feeling of belief in the dressing room after the game on Saturday is something I am keen to keep going. That is very difficult to do but we will be looking to earn that right.

“Cup runs at QPR are what they are, but we want to write some new history for ourselves if we can.”

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