QPR’s need to attack may play right into the hands of resurgent Fulham

Harry Redknapp has led QPR on a route back to respectability preaching defensive organisation all the while, with low-scoring affairs the dish of the day nearly everyday. Seven of the 11 games in which the Super Hoops have gained precious points since Redknapp left his Sandbanks lair for West London have contained less than three goals. Four of Fulham’s last five home games have made winners of under 2.5 bettors and it’s 10/11 with Coral that their meeting with Martin Jol’s Fulham goes the same way.

Despite the reassuring progress made under Redknapp, Rangers are still some way from safety and they’ll need to gravitate from hard-to-beat to hard-to-stop pretty sharpish to avoid the drop. Their last three league games have seen QPR loosen up in pursuit of maximum points and against Southampton and Sunderland they delivered but against Villa their latest shift in identity was found out as the Villains came back at them full steam to win 3-2.

The worry with the R’s is whether their defence can remain solid whilst they address the pressing need for victories with a more attacking mindset.  Fulham’s combination of incisive forwards like Bryan Ruiz and Damien Duff with the cold-as-ice finishing of Dimitar Berbatov could see any lapses punished. The languid Bulgarian can be backed at 6/5 to register at any time in the contest or 9/2 to score first/last with Coral.

The abiding proximity of the drop zone has seen Fulham put on spurt and they can equal or better their best seven-game points haul of the season in this fixture. The Cottagers are 1/1 to record a success that would do much to guarantee safety for another season with seven games remaining.

Rangers will be encouraged in their pursuit of victory by Fulham’s amenable home defence, who hadn’t kept a Craven Cottage clean sheet since October before the 1-0 win against Stoke in their last home game. Nonetheless the Cottagers have concede more than one goal just once in their last ten at home.