Newcastle v QPR
Mark Hughes will be in the dugout for the first time when Queens Park Rangers make the difficult trip north to Newcastle’s Sports Direct Arena on Sunday.
Hughes took the reigns at Loftus Road on Tuesday replacing Neil Warnoch who was relieved of duties just two days earlier.
The former Blackburn and Man City’s brief is simple, keep QPR in the Premier League and stop a run of form that has seen the club fail to win in their last 9 games in all competitions.
Just two points have been collected during that time as the Londoners have slipped to fourth from bottom, one point from safety.
Hughes is expected to be handed a decent war chest for the January transfer window and has already been linked with moves for Steven Pienaar and Chelsea defender Alex, however there will be no new arrivals in place for the trip to the North East.
In fact Hughes will travel without the suspended Joey Barton, who missed out on a return to his former club following his sending off against Norwich.
Another former Newcastle man, Kieron Dyer, all misses out on the chance to impress as he continues his recovery from ligament damage sustained on the opening day of the season.
Newcastle meanwhile will be hoping to build on their successful last outing in the league when they beat last season’s Champions Manchester United 3-0 thanks in no part to the finishing of Demba Ba.
Alan Pardew men’s are currently in 7th spot just four points of the final Champions League spot however with Ba away on African Cup of Nations duty with Senegal Newcastle will be hoping his replacements are equally effective in front of goal.
With Peter Lovenkrands, Nile Ranger and Sammy Ameobi joining Ba on the absentee list, the burden of scoring will fall on Leon Best and Shola Ameobi, who impressed against United.
Best started the season in fine form but an early season injury saw his struggle to regain his place upon his return.
The former Coventry striker will be keen to impress on his return especially against a leaky QPR back line that has conceded 35 goals so far this season.
