Previewing Tonight's QPR vs Stoke

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Stoke's home record is 3 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats - TableStoke Players and Stoke Results

STOKE SENTINEL -Di Canio is QPR's Renaissance man

QPR fans were hoping the Italian influence on their new board would lead to their next manager being Gianluca Vialli, Franco Baresi or Alessandro Costacurta - and even when they heard his name was Di Canio they assumed it was Paolo.

But in stepped Luigi Di Canio, without a word of English on his lips, to take charge of a club jettisoning John Gregory eight weeks ago after plunging towards relegation.

But the 50-year-old coach, whose previous ports of call include Udinese, Napoli and Genoa no less, has steadied a sinking ship that will soon become a buccaneering galleon if the club's new owners are as spend-happy as onlookers are being led to believe.

Di Canio, who employs a fella called Felix to bark instructions in English from the touchline, has won one, drawn two and lost one of his four games in charge.

He arrived at Loftus Road promising a passing game to tickle the fancy of those Rangers fans still harking for a return to the days when their hoops were emblazoned across the strutting figures of a Rodney Marsh, Stan Bowles and Tony Currie.

The club's new owners are the Grand Prix magnates Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, but the chairmanship remains, for now, in the hands of one-time Vale suitor Gianni Paladini.

Anything between £15m-£20m is said to be available to spend during the 18-month promotion plan to which Rangers are apparently working since the takeover.

They remain in the bottom three for now, however, after their latest outing finished in a 0-0 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Rangers are thought to be pondering just one change after central defender Bob Malcolm suffered the indignity of being substituted in only the 65th minute of his debut on loan from Derby.

Finnish-born replacement Sampsa Timoska was his impressive replacement on Saturday, but Malcolm's greater bulk might still be preferred against the anticipated physical threat of Stoke's forward line this evening.

Stoke themselves are seeking to end a run of three successive home defeats, of course, after coming a cropper against the two Sheffields and Coventry.

"It's important we get a couple of wins on the bounce now against QPR and Norwich this coming week," said newcomer Danny Pugh.

"If we can get those couple of wins back-to-back it will make Saturday's draw at Burnley an even better result.

"It's never a bad point away from home and the clean sheet at Burnley was a bonus, especially for the lads at the back."

Pugh was one of those back lads himself after being pushed to left-back from left midfield during a significant pre-match reshuffle last Saturday.

He admits left midfield is his preference, but diplomatically added: "Anywhere the manager wants to play me, I will do my best.

"Players are just happy to be in the starting line-up and I'm no different."

Pugh's whereabouts this evening remains a guarded secret as manager Tony Pulis once again has the option of Ricardo Fuller in attack after suspension.

"It's a massive boost to have him back, he's a quality player who would lift any team," said Pugh as he reflected on Fuller missing his first league game of the season at Burnley where, in truth, Stoke never threatened the scoresheet.

"It's a very tight league and if we can string a couple of results together, we can shoot up that table, especially as there's a lot of games starting to come up thick and fast."

Stoke currently trail QPR 13-7 in head-to-head victories from their 26 league meetings since their first in September 1968.

VITAL STATISTICS
Previous meeting
May 6, 2007: QPR 1 (Rowlands 6), Stoke City 1 (Sidibe 84)
IT was essentially win or bust for Stoke as they chased a play-off place on the final day of last season.

However, an early mistake by Simonsen left City chasing a lost cause in which the limping Sidibe could only claim a consolation equaliser.

QPR: Cole, Timoska, Bignot, Stewart, Shimmin, Bailey, Bolder (Bircham,83), Rowlands, Smith, Nygaard (R Jones,88), Blackstock (Furlong,76).
Stoke City: Simonsen, Zakuani (Pericard,59), Griffin, Fortune, Higginbotham, Hoefkens, Diao (Russell,72), Matteo, Hendrie (Martin,19), Sidibe, Fuller.
Attendance: 16,741.

Form guide: Stoke City: LLWLD, QPR: WWLDD

Who we'd like to sign: Scott Sinclair is on loan from Chelsea and full of pace and skill.

Who to boo: No Marc Bircham these days, but you can always close your eyes and imagine he’s still there.

Man in the middle: Uriah Rennie is a one-time Premiership official who needs no introduction.

Probable line-ups: Stoke City: Simonsen, Wright, Pugh, Cort, Shawcross, Lawrence, Matteo, Eustace, Cresswell, Sidibe, Fuller.
QPR: Camp, Mancienne, Barker, Malcolm, Stewart, Rowlands, Leigertwood, Sinclair, Vine, Blackstock, Buzsaky.
Predicition: Stoke to bounce back to winning ways after second-half strikes from Richard Cresswell and Ricardo Fuller. Stoke Sentinel

QPR Official Site MATCHDAY PREVIEW: POTTERS
The R's travel to The Britannia Stadium tonight, to lock horns with a Stoke City side suffering from a blip in form in front of their own supporters.
Tony Pulis' men currently occupy a noteworthy tenth place in the Coca Cola Championship, but their poor home form represents Luigi De Canio's side with a genuine opportunity of returning from the Trent with maximum points.
Indeed, the Potters' last home victory arrived against Colchester United some seven weeks ago - a run which has seen them fail to register maximum points in their previous three fixtures at The Britannia.
The sequence of results has clearly left Pulis bewildered. Speaking after their recent 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United, the Stoke gaffer was left scratching his head trying to work out how Stoke lost a third successive home fixture.
"I don't think we have had the breaks. Things haven't seemed to break for us and we could have won all three," said Pulis.
"I have been involved in football for a long time, so I am used to this, but it does hurt."
The Potters' form on their travels, however, is quite impressive.
Prior to Saturday's goalless draw against Burnley, City had lost just twice on their travels, with notable victories against Cardiff City, Crystal Palace and Scunthorpe United.
That away-day form is thanks in part to the impressive displays of defender Ryan Shawcross.
Stoke's on-loan Manchester United defender, who has been an ever-present for the Potters this season, was named as the Championship's player of the month for October.
The 20-year-old found the net three times during the month, scoring against West Bromwich Albion, Colchester and Crystal Palace. QPR