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We go there not only looking to inflict on them their first league defeat of the season thus giving us our first away win of the season, but scoring a goal at Loftus Road, something no visiting club has done since Peter Løvenkrands scored for Newcastle on the last day of last season's Championship season.
It's a tough ask for sure, but it is a challenge that Burnley must be ready for. Our lack of away wins has constantly put us under pressure to get results at home, but last week's defeat against Reading has now had the reverse effect and put that pressure onto the away games. Yes, we've only lost twice, but at some stage we are going to have to start turning those draws into wins and with two away games coming up before we return to Turf Moor it might just be a good time to start.
QPR are considered now to be one of the richest clubs in the world. They were bought for a few hundred thousand in August 2007 by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore with Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittel investing later in the same year.
The team was managed by John Gregory at the time but he didn't last long. Neither, for that matter, did Mick Harford, Luigi De Canio, Iain Dowie, Gareth Ainsworth, Paulo Sousa, Jim Magilton, Paul Hart or Mick Harford again.
It all become something of a joke as they turned managers over quicker than current boss Neil Warnock ever signed strikers for Sheffield United. Earlier this year, with Briatore playing a less active role, they appointed Neil Warnock. Almost eight months later he's still in charge, the club's longest serving manager since Gregory.
Having ended last season in 13th place , Warnock set about rebuilding the squad in the summer and he made a number of signings starting with three players who had previously played for him. Sheffield United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny was the first and he was quickly followed by both Shaun Derry and Clint Hill from Crystal Palace.
Jordan Hibbert (Barnsley), Jamie Mackie (Plymouth) and Bradley Orr (Bristol City) were next before he splashed out to bring Adel Taarabt back to Loftus Road from Spurs, this time on a permanent deal.
On transfer deadline day, Warnock did what Warnock does best by signing two forwards in Derby's Rob Hulse and Tommy Smith from Portsmouth and in September he clinched the signing of former Sheffield United full back Kyle Walker on loan from Spurs.
It's all worked too. They sit top of the league, and that despite drawing each of their last three games. As referred to above, they haven't conceded a single goal at home and have only conceded four on the road including two at Derby when they came back to draw with two stoppage time goals.
Along with Cardiff they are favourites to go straight up to the Premier League, a league QPR haven't played in since they suffered relegation at the end of the 1995/96 season.
29 points from the first 13 games is a good start in any season and they will feel confident that they can go on and achieve promotion, even without new recruits in the transfer window with Warnock saying he doesn't need any more players. Yes, we believe you Colin.
Heidar Helguson suffered a shoulder injury at Bristol City last weekend. It looks as though he could be fit but if not Rob Hulse could get his first start after making his debut last week as a substitute for Helguson.
QPR are also expected to be without Akos Buzsaky, Lee Cook and Martin Rowlands. Both Buzsaky and Cook have knee injuries and Rowlands has a calf problem. Buzsaky played as recently as two weeks ago but neither Cook nor Rowlands have featured this season.
They drew 1-1 at Bristol City in their last game with Patrick Agyemang scoring a late equaliser. The team then, in a 4-2-3-1 formation, was: Paddy Kenny, Kyle Walker, Matt Connolly, Kaspars Gorkss, Clint Hill, Shaun Derry, Alejandro Faurlin, Jamie Mackie, Adel Taarabt, Hogan Ephraim, Heidar Helguson. Subs: Radek Cerny, Bradley Orr, Fitz Hall, Gavin Mahon, Tommy Smith, Patrick Agyemang, Rob Hulse.
Brian Laws made six changes for the Carling Cup tie at Aston Villa on Wednesday with three of the changes forced on him. Leon Cort was suspended, Chris Eagles injured and we believe Andre Bikey was the other one ruled out with an injury.
He could for today's game go back to the side that played the last league game but I suspect that won't be the case. I'm sure Clarke Carlisle will continue at the back with Cort unable to get his place back and, after his performance at Villa Park, there could be a first Burnley league game in almost five years for Lee Grant.
Martin Paterson might just have done enough to win a place in the starting line up too.
I do think Wade Elliott will return for Graham Alexander and I expect Eagles to be back with Ross Wallace on the bench.
The team might just be: Lee Grant, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Andre Bikey, Danny Fox, Jack Cork, Wade Elliott, Dean Marney, Chris Eagles, Martin Paterson, Jay Rodriguez. Subs from: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, David Edgar, Leon Cort, Brian Easton, Graham Alexander, Ross Wallace, Chris Iwelumo, Steven Thompson.
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Worried that this might be a real case of 'After the Lord Mayor's Show' I was pleased to see us start brightly, but it didn't last and QPR were in front on the quarter hour through Dexter Blackstock.
They got on top from that point and gave us a difficult time. A second goal looked likely and that would probably have been that had it come. Thankfully it didn't and when the second goal did come it went our way.
Joey Gudjonsson did well to find Robbie Blake who then produced a piece of brilliance, turning and hitting a powerful left foot shot from just outside the box that left Radek Cerny helpless.
It changed the game with Gudjonsson and Chris Eagles both coming close to giving us a lead before half time. In the end it was 1-1, perhaps a fair reflection of the first 45 minutes.
We started the second half in devastating fashion and the home side could do no more than hang on. Blake and Eagles were tearing them apart and only Cerny kept QPR level. with one save from Wade Elliott a stunner.
We even overcame the loss of Eagles, who was stretchered off with an ankle injury, and it was his replacement, Alan Mahon, who proved to be the match winner.
Graham Alexander and Elliott worked the ball down the right and fed Blake who crossed the ball. The cross was headed out to Mahon who hit an instant volley back, across Cerny, and into the corner and what was his last Burnley goal.
QPR came storming back in the last few minutes and might have won a penalty when a player went down under a challenge from Duff, but we hung on and deserved that 2-1 win.
The teams were;
QPR: Radek Cerny, Peter Ramage, Damion Stewart, Fitz Hall, Matthew Connolly (Damien Delaney 45), Samuel Di Carmine, Martin Rowlands, Damiano Tommasi (Gavin Mahon 53), Lee Cook, Hogan Ephraim (Patrick Ageymang 63), Dexter Blackstock. Subs not used: Jake Cole, Jorge Ledesma.
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Clarke Carlisle, Michael Duff, Stephen Jordan, Wade Elliott, Joey Gudjonsson, Chris McCann, Chris Eagles (Alan Mahon 56), Robbie Blake (Kevin McDonald 79), Steven Thompson (Ade Akinbiyi 84). Subs not used: Diego Penny, Martin Paterson.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
2000/01 | 1 | a | 1-0 | 11,427 | Mullin |
| . | . | h | 2-1 | 14,018 | Smith Taylor |
2004/05 | C | a | 0-3 | 15,638 | . |
. | . | h | 2-0 | 10,396 | Akinbiyi(2) |
2005/06 | C | a | 1-1 | 12,565 | McCann |
| . | . | h | 1-0 | 11,247 | Gray |
2006/07 | C | h | 2-0 | 12,190 | Jones(2) |
. | . | a | 1-3 | 10,811 | McCann |
2007/08 | C | h | 0-2 | 10,522 | . |
| . | . | a | 4-2 | 13,410 | Cole(3) Akinbiyi |
2008/09 | C | a | 2-1 | 13,226 | Blake Mahon |
. | FA | a | 0-0 | 8,896 | . |
. | FA | h | 2-1 | 3,760 | Thompson Rodriguez (won after extra time) |
. | C | h | 1-0 | 15,058 | Eagles |