Premier League preview: Tottenham v Queens Park Rangers
21 September 2012
Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to build on recent promising results when they host Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League on Sunday.
After a slow start to their domestic campaign, which saw them lose to Newcastle and settle for home draws with both West Bromwich Albion and Norwich, Spurs and under-fire manager Andre Villas-Boas finally had reason to smile last week when they produced their best performance of the season to date.
Tottenham accounted for Reading 3-1 on Sunday in an emphatic return to form at the Madejski Stadium courtesy of a Jermain Defoe brace either side of a Gareth Bale strike.
Encouragingly for Spurs, they backed that performance up with a respectable 0-0 Europa League draw on Thursday against Lazio, who have begun their Serie A campaign with a bang after winning their first two matches.
"I was very, very happy with the performance. We played extremely well and we put a lot of effort in to the game," Villas-Boas said after the match on Thursday.
"We looked positive and attacked all through the game."
Villas-Boas confirmed veteran goalkeeper Brad Friedel would reclaim his spot between the posts despite Frenchman Hugo Lloris impressing in his first appearance with the North London club against Lazio.
"We decided it was time for Hugo to get his chance and he played extremely well tonight, although he hardly made any saves," Villas-Boas said.
"He was looking sharp and played it well from the back.
"He took crosses well and was extremely positive in his performance - it bodes well for the future."
A foot injury may prevent left back Kyle Naughton from taking his place on Sunday.
QPR head into this clash on the back of a less-than-ideal start to their season.
They have only managed two points from their first four Premier League matches, with heavy defeats to Swansea (5-0) and Manchester City (3-1) putting an early dent in their goal difference column.
But they appeared to turn the corner on Saturday when they drew 0-0 with league heavyweights Chelsea at Loftus Road.
While QPR will also take confidence from the fact they beat Spurs 1-0 in April, history is against their efforts of repeating that effort this weekend given they have not tasted success at White Hart Lane since 1994.
