Top two ready for Turf Moor clash

QPR went top of the league after a 0-0 home draw against Brighton on 18th September, but 13 days later it was Burnley who went top with a win at Doncaster, a position we've retained since.

Last weekend our win at Ipswich took us two points clear, courtesy of a Scott Arfield goal ten minutes from time at Portman Road and a late equaliser for Millwall against QPR from Jermaine Easter at The Den.

Since then we've had almost a week of build up to this game with comparisons made between our current strikers and the one we lost in the summer and many recollections of 41 years ago, a season that saw both of us promoted.

It's important to focus on what we're doing says Tom Heaton

We've played twelve league games this season; they've played one less, so this game tomorrow is certainly no title decider, but it is clearly an important game and will certainly pitch us up against the team everyone expected to be the best this season.

That might be the case. We do play against a team that remains unbeaten in the league, but likewise they will be coming up against a team that hasn't lost any of its last eight league games and has won seven of them, as good a run of results as we've seen at Burnley in twelve years.

We need to go into the game and concentrate very much on what we can do and goalkeeper Tom Heaton has echoed that. "We all know they've got a lot of good individuals, but we won't be over focused on them," he said.

"We'll be focused on what we can bring to the game and I think if we show the same endeavour as recent weeks we can get a good result. Both teams have started well and it's got the makings of a good game. It's just important for us to focus on what we're doing."

Heaton has been able to keep six clean sheets in league games this season including five in this run of eight games and he'll almost certainly be lining up tomorrow in front of the same back four who have played in every one of those games.

He said of that back four: "If the lads in front can stop the ball, it's great for me. In the last two or three games I've barely had a save to make, which is great and there's no moaning from me, that's how I want it."

Not only the goalkeeper and back four, the whole team is expected to be that which has started virtually all of the games in this unbeaten run. Keith Treacy played in the win at Derby prior to the signing of Michael Kightly while David Edgar stood in for the suspended Dean Marney at Doncaster.

Tomorrow's team, barring any late injuries, will be: Tom Heaton, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Ben Mee, Scott Arfield, Dean Marney, David Jones, Michael Kightly, Danny Ings, Sam Vokes. Subs: Alex Cisak, Kevin Long, Danny Lafferty, David Edgar, Brian Stock, Junior Stanislas, Keith Treacy.

The 2012/13 season was something of a disastrous one for QPR. Having won promotion in 2011they thankfully avoided the drop on the last day of the 2011/12 season despite falling to defeat as Manchester City came from behind to win and clinch the table.

The season had seen them part company with manager Neil Warnock with Mark Hughes coming in and things were expected to improve for 2012/13. However, things went worse. Hughes was sacked and new boss Harry Redknapp, despite late January transfer window deals and a few interviews through the car door window, was unable to get them close to staying up. By the end of the season they were 14 points from safety and returned to the Championship along with Wigan and Reading.

They were immediately installed as favourites to win the Championship this season and that's where they remain despite being two points behind us, albeit with a game in hand. They remain undefeated, the only English league club to have achieved that.

Ahead of the season they made some significant signings including Richard Dunne from Aston Villa, Niko Kranjcar from Dynamo Kiev and Benoit Assou-Ekotto on a season long loan from Spurs.

But the signing we know most about is the one they completed just two days before the season kicked off, that of our leading goalscorer Charlie Austin.

We expected Charlie to leave and expected him to go to the Premier League. Hull was his destination before a knee problem showed up on the scan and Steve Bruce decided to announce it to the world.

He returned to us, played in all the pre-season games but the first, which came the day after the medical news, and looked all set to be in our team for the opening game against Bolton. Then, on the Wednesday evening, came news of a deal with QPR and he was in their team that kicked off the season.

Tomorrow will see him play against us for the first time. He'll surely get a good reception from the home crowd but I certainly hope our central defenders are able to keep more than an eye on a player who has very recently started to find the net for his new club, as we all expected he would.

He'll start the game, nothing is surer than that. They've been short of forwards recently because of injury. Bobby Zamora remains out of the reckoning but Andy Johnson could be involved after recovering from his injury and playing an under-21 game.

Tom Carroll, another on loan from Spurs, is sidelined with an ankle injury sustained playing for England under-21s and also out long term is Nedum Onuoha.

Added to the squad though is defender Oguchi Onjewu. He's been training with them and finally signed this week and has gone straight into the squad.

Redknapp will select from: Rob Green, Danny Simpson, Richard Dunne, Clint Hill, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar, Karl Henry, Gary O'Neil, Junior Hoilett, Charlie Austin, Armand Traore, Matt Phillips, Jermaine Jenas, Javier Chevanton, Brian Murphy, Max Ehmer, Alejandro Faurlin, Oguchi Onjewu, Andy Johnson.

Last Time They Were Here

The last time this fixture was played was in January 2011 and it was a day of managers past and future as far as Burnley were concerned.

On a day when the rain poured down, there was a wonderful ovation for the returning Jimmy Adamson ahead of the game just ahead of the arrival of manager elect Eddie Howe.

Danny Fox played well on his return from injury

QPR, then under the management of Neil Warnock, arrived with a five point lead over Cardiff at the top of the league and Burnley were sat in tenth place but just four points behind the play offs.

We'd won one and lost one league game under caretaker manager Stuart Gray and he was to end his tenure with this game which ended in a 0-0 draw.

We made a worrying start to the game with QPR very much on top in the first quarter of an hour and a difficult afternoon looked to be very much in store for us. At least we didn't concede a goal during that period with Lee Grant denying Shaun Derry with the only real chance.

It took us over half an hour to muster an effort on goal. Grant's save from Derry had been a good one and Paddy Kenny's was even better to prevent Jay Rodriguez scoring as we started to assert ourselves in the closing period of the first half.

By half time we were perhaps fortunate to be level and nothing much changed in the second half with the Burnley crowd targeting Adel Taarabt for his wonderful ability to go down too easily, often untouched. Warnock accused us after the game of unfairly targeting his player. What a pity he had chosen not to see what we'd seen.

With the Clarets resolute in defence, but offering very little up front, we battled through to a point and in fairness any threat from QPR had been extinguished long before the final whistle.

Howe was appointed as our new manager on the following day but sadly Adamson's first visit to Turf Moor in years proved to be his last before he passed away later in the year.

Michael Duff and Danny Fox proved to be our best performers on the day; Fox having an outstanding game on his return from an injury that had kept him out for nine games.

Much has changed at the two clubs since with only Michael Duff and Clint Hill from that game expected to start tomorrow.

The teams were;

Burnley: Lee Grant, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Michael Duff, Danny Fox, Graham Alexander (David Edgar 86), Wade Elliott, Jack Cork, Chris Eagles, Chris Iwelumo (Steven Thompson 68), Jay Rodriguez. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, Andre Bikey, Kevin McDonald, Ross Wallace.

QPR: Paddy Kenny, Bradley Orr, Matt Connolly, Kaspars Gorkss, Clint Hill, Shaun Derry, Alejandro Faurlin (Leon Clarke 81), Tommy Smith, Adel Taarabt (Fitz Hall 90+3), Petter Vaagan Moen, Rob Hulse (Heidar Helguson 81). Subs not used: Radek Cerny, Gary Borrowdale, Antonio German, Lee Cook.

Previous Games against QPR

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