MX23RW : Friday, December 13 09:52:05| >> :60:227:227:

Live Commentary: Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Chelsea - as it happened

Sports Mole brings you live text coverage of the Premier League clash between Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea.

Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary from the Premier League clash between Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea.

It promises to be a fiery encounter at Loftus Road, with the high-profile race row between Anton Ferdinand and John Terry threatening to overshadow the game.

Roberto Di Matteo's side go into the match as firm favourites having maintained a 100% record during the new campaign, while the hosts have picked up just one point from three games.

QPR summer signings Esteban Granero and Park Ji-Sung are likely to line the midfield, while Di Matteo is expected to place Fernando Torres up front on his own with Eden Hazard and Juan Mata providing support.


5.30pmThat's all from me today. Many thanks for reading!

5.30pmYou can read our match report here and our match analysis here.

4.53pmFull-time report and match analysis coming up...

94 minsIt's all over here at Loftus Road. A dominant display from QPR in the second period, but they couldn't find a way through.

92 minsChance! Zamora finds Cisse inside the box, but solid defending from David Luiz keeps him out.

90 minsThree minutes of stoppage time to be played.

90 minsA good break by Chelsea ends with Ramirez lining up Lampard, but the England midfielder puts the ball into row Z.

87 minsChance! Moses plays the ball across the face of the QPR goal and Hazard blazes his shot over the crossbar. What a sitter!

81 minsSturridge is on now as a frustrated Torres storms straight down the tunnel.

80 minsSturridge is about to replace Torres as Chelsea prepare to make a change.

77 minsChance! Great goal-scoring opportunity for Zamora at the other end! He gets the better of Terry for a one-on-on with Cech. The Chelsea keeper does well to hold him off, and Terry redeems himself by clearing the striker's goal-bound effort.

76 minsHalf chance for Chelsea as a Lampard deflected strike is claimed by Julio Cesar.

74 minsGood interception from Ryan Nelson there. The New Zealander denies Moses a goal scoring opportunity.

72 minsTerry looks to be in some discomfort, much to the delight of the home crowd. Is his injury playing up?

70 minsQPR substitution: Djibril Cisse replaces Wright-Phillips. That's Mark Hughes's final sub of the afternoon.

67 minsChance! Hazard swings a cross over to the far post and finds the head of Ivanovic, but the Serbian puts it wide. He sound have hit the target from there!

64 minsThe home side continue to dominate the attacking possession, with Park trying his luck from range. The South Korean misses the target.

62 minsWright-Phillips takes Zamora's cross on the volley, but his shot flies will wide of the goal.

60 minsIt's all QPR at the moment. They pile in the pressure through Wright-Phillips, but good defending from Cole forces him to kicking the ball out.

58 minsChelsea substitution: Bertrand is replaced by Victor Moses. That should boost the visitor's attack.

56 minsChance! Park's diving header is easily claimed by Cech. If he had gotten more on that QPR might well have gone a goal up!.

55 minsGreat link-up play between Bosingwa and Park, but the South Korean's cross is headed behind for a corner.

54 minsIt's more, frantic, end-to-end football in the second-half, but neither side has managed to convert their possession into anything tangible.

50 minsChance! Mackie has the first strike on target of the second-half, but it's straight at Cech, who makes a comfortable stop.

45 minsAndre Marriner gets the game back under way.

4.03pmThe second-half is about to commence. You can get a recap of all the action from the first here.

3.54pmIf you've just joined us, it's 0-0 here at Loftus Road. No doubt one of the big talking points afterwards will be Ferdinand's decision to snub Terry and Cole during the handshakes. You can read all about that here.

3.53pmI think there are goals in this one, though, so stayed tuned!

3.50pmQPR had the better of the possession in the first period, albeit marginally, with 51% to Chelsea's 49%. The Blues looked the more likely to steal a lead through, with five shots on target to the hosts' two.

48 minsThe referee brings the first-half to an end. It's been a great game, just a shame we are yet to see any goals.

47 minsMackie latches on to a through ball and tries to take on the Chelsea defence on his own. Zamora was there in support, but he failed to spot him and went for goal himself. His shot is blocked.

45 minsAn additional three minutes of stoppage time will be played.

41 minsThere were appeals for handball against Ferdinand. I think his chest took the brunt of it. He certainly didn't have his arms raised as he jumped up to make the block.

41 minsHalf chance for Chelsea as Mikel shoots from outside the box, only to see his effort plough into the rib cage of Ferdinand. A good block from the QPR defender.

35 minsChance! It's a free header for David Luiz, but the Brazilian misjudges it and fails to hit the target. That's why he plays in defence!

33 minsJohnson off Jamie Mackie on. It looks like a knee injury has brought an end to the ex-Fulham man's game. Let's hope it isn't too serious as he has had his fair share of bad luck on the injury front in the past.

32 minsLooks like the striker will have to be replaced!

31 minsAndy Johnson is on there deck here. That's worrying for QPR, who have already had to make one enforced change through injury.

30 minsHazard goes down in the box under the challenge of Wright-Phillips. The Belgian appeals for a penalty, but the Referee isn't interested. Hazard was a little too keen to go down there I think.

27 minsTerrible tackle by Bertrand on Wright-Phillips. The ref shows him the yellow card, and rightly so. Credit to Wright-Phillips, who didn't make a meal of it.

23 minsIt's been a great game so far with both sides playing face-paced, counter-attacking football. QPR have had the better of the attacking possession, but this could go either way.

22 minsLampard puts a free kick into the box, but Ferdinand beats Ivanovic to the ball and heads clear.

20 minsChelsea's Ivanovic looks in some discomfort too, but he will soldier on for the time being.

18 minsSubstitution for QPR: Fabio is withdrawn through injury and Nedum Onuoha comes on to replace him.

17 minsChance! A Chelsea counter-attack ends with a left-footed Torres drve being parried away by Julio Cesar for his teammates to clear the danger.

15 minsChance! Zamora gives his marker the slip and fires towards goal, but Cech makes a comfortable save.

14 minsRamires booked for a late challenge on Zamora. He can have no complaints there. That was reckless!

10 minsHalf chance for the hosts as Park whips a dangerous cross into that box, but Johnson can't quite get to it. Good pressure from QPR.

9 minsLampard plays a long ball to Torres, whose poor first touch results in a QPR throw. Ironic cheers from the crowd.

4 minsChance! Great save by Julio Cesar to keep out Hazard! The Belgian should have done better, but let's take nothing away from the keeper who did well to get his body behind that low strike.

3 minsIt's an energetic start from both sides with the ball moving from end-to-end. QPR look the more settled, spurred on by a vocal home crowd.

1 minAs predicted, Ferdinand snubbed both Terry and Cole during the handshakes. Now let's move on and focus on football.

3.00pmWe're under way here!

2.51pmHistory aside, I think Chelsea will edge this today. The European champions have started this season as they finished the last, while QPR still look like a side in transition. I'll go with 2-1.

2.39pmAlthough Chelsea are the favourites today, they don't have a great record at Loftus Road having won just twice in 17 attempts. Neither side lists London derbies among their specialities. QPR had the worst record against neighbouring teams in the Premier League last season, followed closely by Chelsea.

2.33pmChelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cole, David Luiz, Terry, Bertrand, Ramires, Lampard, Mikel, Hazard, Torres

2.32pmQueen Park Rangers: Julio Cesar, Ferdinand, Nelsen, Bosingwa, Fabio, Park Ji-sung, Wright-Phillips, Granero, Faurlin, Johnson, Zamora

2.31pmTeam news is in. We'll have the starting 11s for you in just a moment...

2.28pmNaturally Chelsea are the bookmakers' favourites having maintained a 100% record during the new campaign. QPR have picked up just one point from three games.

2.28pmThe odds for today's game: QPR (15/4), Chelsea (10/11), Draw (35/13)

2.22pmDi Matteo: "[We want to] make people focus more on the football side rather than other issues. I know Mark Hughes very well, we're in touch every now and then and hopefully everyone will focus on football tomorrow and move on. Every time we go to Loftus Road it's always a feisty day. It's a small ground with very passionate supporters from both sides. It's going to be a heated atmosphere. We would like both sets of supporters but especially ours to support their team. Football is here to unite people rather than divide people."

2.22pmHughes: "There's a lot of debate over the handshake every time we have a game against Chelsea. We'll respect the handshake if that's what we're told will happen. It's not my decision, we abide by the Premier League. I've had a discussion with Anton about it, but that will remain between us."

2.21pmSome quotes from both managers coming up...

2.18pmFrom a personal point of view, I don't feel it is something we should dwell on. Whatever decision the players make, I just hope that everyone has learned from what happened with Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra, and the game itself doesn't get out of hand.

2.15pmThe Premier League decided against scrapping the handshake for this one after some discussion. Both Roberto Di Matteo and Mark Hughes have insisted that their players will respect the tradition, but reports suggest that Ferdinand will snub Terry and Ashley Cole, who served as a witness for the Chelsea skipper in court.

2.11pmThis one is a potential powder-keg, with the high profile race row between Anton Ferdinand and John Terry threatening to overshadow the game. How the pair will behave during the pre-match handshake has been the subject of intense speculation.

2.09pmGood afternoon and welcome to our live text coverage of the Premier League clash between QPR and Chelsea.
ID:45317: cacheID:45317:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:21044:
Written by
Mark Langshaw
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Petr Cech
Read Next:
Di Matteo: 'Cech surgery uncertain'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Rams
@
49ers
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!