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Leicester logo
Premier League
May 24, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
QPR logo

5-1

Vardy (16'), Albrighton (42'), Ulloa (51'), Cambiasso (52'), Kramaric (86')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Austin (57')

Preview: Leicester City vs. Queens Park Rangers

Sports Mole previews the final day Premier League clash between Leicester City and Queens Park Rangers at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester City will be looking to cap their miraculous push to safety by beating Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season at the King Power Stadium.

R's boss Chris Ramsey will be determined to ensure that his side do not finish bottom of the Premier League in his first game in permanent charge of the club by earning a positive result.



Leicester

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson on May 9, 2015© Getty Images

The Foxes completed their miraculous surge to survival in their goalless draw against Sunderland last week.

Nigel Pearson's men looked dead and buried back in March when they were seven points adrift of safety and all but certain to be relegated back to the Championship.

However, the Foxes had other ideas as they recorded four victories on the spin to lift them above QPR and Burnley to give them hope of staying in the top flight.

Vital wins over Newcastle United and Southampton followed to put them on the brink of an amazing run to safety before they finally got over the line at the Stadium of Light.

The Foxes' defensive record has been one of the main reasons for their remarkable escape from the bottom three. Pearson's side have kept five clean sheets in their last nine games, doubling their tally from the first 29 matches of the campaign.

Goals have also flowed from their attacking players in recent weeks, with Jamie Vardy's good form rewarded with a call-up to the England squad. Meanwhile, Leonard Ulloa, Riyad Mahrez and Andy King have also netted crucial strikes.

Leicester can round off an excellent final two months of the campaign with a victory over the R's that would see them finish in 14th place in the Premier League.

Such a high-placed finish would have been unthinkable back in March, and Pearson deserves a huge amount of credit for masterminding his team's miraculous push to stay in the top flight.

Recent form: WWLWWD



QPR

QPR boss Chris Ramsey on May 10, 2015© Getty Images

The R's will end their miserable season at the King Power Stadium with the hope of a victory to avoid finishing bottom of the Premier League.

The club's relegation back to the second tier of English football was confirmed two weeks ago when they were hammered 6-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Ramsey was appointed as the club's permanent successor to Harry Redknapp, despite his failure to guide QPR to safety in his fourth months in charge.

Ramsey was dealt an extremely tough hand when Redknapp decided to leave the team in January as the players have not been able to produce their best form, leading to their drop into the Championship.

The 53-year-old has been able to guide his team to sporadic moments of joy with away wins over Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion, but the nine defeats the club have suffered in his 14 games in charge have doomed them after just one season in the top flight.

QPR's main problem this season has been their defensive record as the club have shipped the most goals in the Premier League, conceding 68 in their 37 matches. The statistic will be infuriating to the club's owners considering their heavy investment in Rio Ferdinand and Steven Caulker last summer.

However, Ramsey's men can still end the season on a high note following their victory over Newcastle United last week, meaning that they can avoid finishing bottom of the league with a win at the King Power Stadium in a potential last hurrah for Charlie Austin wearing a Hoops shirt.

Recent form: DLDLLW



Team News

Charlie Austin of QPR scores his team's third goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City at Loftus Road on November 29, 2014© Getty Images

Leicester will definitely be without Danny Simpson as the club have ruled him out of contention to examine the findings of the assault case against him.

David Nugent will miss out due to a calf injury, while Matty James is also missing due to a long-term knee injury.

QPR will be without Robert Green and Steven Caulker as the duo sustained a concussion and a broken hand respectively in their win over Newcastle last week.

Alex McCarthy will replace Green between the sticks, while Yun Suk-young could come into the side for Caulker, with Clint Hill moving across to centre-back.

Ramsey will also likely hand opportunities to young players in the final game of the season so Reece Grego-Cox, Darnell Furlong and Brandon Comley could feature at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel, Wasilewski, Huth, Morgan, Albrighton, Cambiasso, Mahrez, King, Schlupp, Ulloa, Vardy

QPR possible starting lineup:
Green, Onuoha, Hill, Dunne, Suk-young, Phillips, Barton, Henry, Hoilett, Fer, Austin



Head To Head

QPR recorded a 3-2 victory over the Foxes earlier in the campaign as a second-half strike from Austin edged them to victory.

Nugent scored the only goal of the game last season to guide Pearson's men to the three points in the last clash at the King Power Stadium. Meanwhile, Vardy scored at Loftus Road in a 1-0 win for the Foxes as they recorded the double over the R's.

Over the course of history, QPR hold a slight edge as they have won 26 of the contests against Leicester, who have won 22, while 10 of the matches have ended in draws.



Video Preview

Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:


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We say: Leicester 3-1 QPR

Leicester are on the up and will be determined to end the season in style in front of their home fans. Vardy will be boosted by his England call-up and he, along with Ulloa, should pose a lot of problems for the QPR backline, which will see Pearson's men cruise to a comfortable win.



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Wes Brown of Sunderland tackles Jamie Vardy of Leicester City during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Sunderland at The King Power Stadium on November 22, 2014
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeicester CityLeicester463141189414897
3Leeds UnitedLeeds462791081433890
4Southampton462691187632487
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4621121370472375
6Norwich CityNorwich4621101579641573
7Hull City461913146860870
8Middlesbrough46209177162969
9Coventry CityCoventry4617131670591164
10Preston North EndPreston46189195667-1163
11Bristol City461711185351262
12Cardiff CityCardiff46195225370-1762
13Millwall461611194555-1059
14Swansea CitySwansea461512195965-657
15Watford461317166161056
16Sunderland46168225254-256
17Stoke CityStoke461511204960-1156
18Queens Park RangersQPR461511204758-1156
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn461411216074-1453
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds46158234468-2453
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth461312215970-1151
RBirmingham CityBirmingham461311225065-1550
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield46918194877-2945
RRotherham UnitedRotherham46512293789-5227


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