Newcastle vs QPR: Hughes to be kept waiting for first win
Published:Martin O’Neill enjoyed a winning start to his life as Sunderland manager, but it seems unlikely that Mark Hughes will follow suit as QPR will struggle to secure victory at Newcastle.
O’Neill’s opening game was somewhat easier as he claimed three points at home to relegation-threatened Blackburn and he has since gone from strength to strength to help them climb from just outside the bottom three to sit in the top half of the Premier League standings.
QPR will hope to find themselves in a similar position at the end of the season, but life is unlikely to start with victory at Newcastle.
It is 4/1 in the Premier League odds that QPR beat Newcastle, but they have taken just two points from their last eight top-flight fixtures.
Meanwhile, their last Premier League success was back in mid-November against Stoke.
However, as Newcastle are without 15-goal top scorer Demba Ba because he has travelled to the African Nations Cup, they are not without hope of leaving the Sports Direct Arena with a point, which can be backed at 11/5.
Newcastle’s odds are 5/6 to beat QPR and this appears the most likely outcome despite the absence of Ba.
They beat Manchester United in their last Premier League home game and a repeat of this performance should see them brush aside QPR.
Newcastle are also unbeaten in their last five meetings with the opposition.
Based on the first half of the campaign, easily the best bet on offer for the fixture is the 2/1 that Newcastle win to nil.
QPR have managed just 19 goals so far this season and Hughes has not had time as yet to sign a striker in the transfer window, while Newcastle have already secured a haul of seven clean sheets.
