Premier League Power Ranking: 5 teams that can be relegated
By Kris Whelan
3. Queens Park Rangers
QPR were tipped by the bookies at the start of the season to go down, and it’s looking pretty likely that the bookies made the right call. If they didn’t have star striker Charlie Austin then they would already be relegated in my opinion. Austin has 15 of the team’s 29 league goals this season, he’s the fourth top scorer in the league which is an amazing achievement considering how poorly his team has been doing.
QPR are currently 18th in the league, three points from safety. One glimmer of hope for the London club is that if they win this weekend and Villa lose they’ll get out of the drop zone, for a while at least. It’s not the most unlikely of scenarios that they’ll be in safety at the end of this weekend, but i don’t believe it will make a difference towards the end of the season.
Things that are going against QPR right now:
1- They’ve won one of their last ten games, scoring eight goals along the way. They have lost a dismal seven of their last eight games, a miserable run.
2- They only have a temporary manager. Harry Redknapp resigned earlier this season, leaving Chris Ramsey in charge for the remainder of the season. It’s no secret that interim managers don’t give a team a significant amount of stability, and this is Ramsey’s first role in the hot seat in England, after managing in the United States previously. His lack of experience when it comes to relegation battles could be a major factor come the end of the season.
3- Joey Barton is suspended for the next three games. Not the most crucial player in the team, but he has played 20 of their 28 games this season, so his absence will be felt on way or the other. I’m sure he will have a lot to say about it on twitter.
4- They play relegation rivals Aston Villa and Leicester away from home. They also play away to Liverpool and Man City, not ideal.
QPR’s remaining fixtures:
Crystal Palace, Everton, West Brom, Chelsea, Villa, West Ham, Liverpool, Man City, Newcastle, Leicester.
As previously mentioned, they are playing their rivals away from home which will have a huge effect on the results. If they lose both those games then they are all but relegated, add that to the two games they are all but certain to lose at Liverpool and City and then you can kiss the hoops goodbye. It’s not looking good for them, but a positive result against Palace this weekend could give them the boost they need to get a run of games going. I don’t see QPR saving themselves by the end of the season, there are two many factors going against them.
Next: No.2: Leicester