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The Pre-Match Warm Up
Friday 10th March 2006
by Ron Norris & Simon Skinner

Rangers are back on the road and face their second trip to Sheffield inside two weeks. After the great win over United can Rangers repeat the feat against The Steel City's other side?

TEAM NEWS

Things aren't so bad on the injury front right now, Tommy Doherty joins Martin Rowlands in being sidelined for the rest of the season after suffering a syndesomosis sprain of his right ankle ten minutes into his on loan debut with Yeovil, Marc Nygaard may still be out with his hamstring strain and Scott Donnelly misses the match after bruising his foot during the midweek reserve match with Crawley but that's pretty much it. Marc Bircham, Steve Lomas and Ian Evatt are both fit to play again and are all likely to return to the side whilst Simon Royce has recovered from his injury problems but will he force Paul Jones out after his impressive display against Wolves?

Sheffield Wednesday could also be set to welcome back some key players from injury and also debut two loan singings on Saturday. Striker Steve MacLean was thought to have broken his toe last week but it turned out to be no more than an inflammation and he was back in training by Thursday whilst defenders John Hills (hamstring) and Peter Gilbert (knee) should both be fit to play. The Owls announced the loan signings of two Premiership players on Friday in goalkeeper Scott Carson from Liverpool and defender Mikkel Bischoff from Manchester City, both join on one month deals and both could be in line for starts.

POSSIBLE TEAM
		Furlong	Gallen


	Cook	Bircham	Lomas	Ainsworth


	Milanese	Evatt	Shittu	Bignot



		Jones

A QUICK GUIDE TO OUR OPPONENTS

OWLS IN BRIEF

It's been a season of struggle for The Owls after their play off success of last season. They find themselves just outside the relegation zone and on a desperate run of form that has seen them lose the last four games and win just once in the last eight games. If they're going to get out of trouble they need to turn things around pretty damn quick.

LAST FIVE GAMES
Date	Versus	Venue	F	A
04/03/06	Cardiff	Away	0	1
25/02/06	Southampton	Away	0	3
18/02/06	Sheff Utd	Home	1	2
15/02/06	Coventry	Away	1	2
11/02/06	Crystal Palace	Home	0	0


TOP SCORERS
Name	FLC	FAC	LC	Total
Chris Brunt	7	0	0	7
Graham Coughlan	4	0	1	5
Chris Eagles	3	0	0	3

RUBBISH FACT

In 1902-03 Sheffield Wednesday won an amazing haul of five trophies, although not a haul of five amazing trophies. They were the First Division, the Midland League, the Sheffield Challenge Cup, the Wharncliffe Charity Cup and the Plymouth Bowl.

RANGERS VERSUS .....

LAST TIME OUT

Queens Park Rangers 0 - 0 Sheffield Wednesday
Friday 27th August 2005

"At the whistle Sturrock would have been far more pleased with this point than most inside Loftus Road. He had sent his team out for a point and they had done the job for him. In truth they had been on the end of a 0-0 battering with Rangers racking up some fifteen attempts at goal, unfortunately the percentage on target was not good enough."

LEAGUE STANDINGS
Pos	Team	P	GD	Pts
14th	QPR	36	-9	46
21st	Sheffield Weds	37	-20	34


HEAD TO HEAD
Played	QPR	Sheff Weds	Draws
51	17	10	24

OTHER MEETINGS

Our last visit to Hillsborough ended up being one of the greatest days in our modern history and that win is one of three we've enjoyed in the last four visits to their place. The other game was not so great though, it ended in a 5-2 win for the home side.

GENERAL INFORMATION

THE REFEREE

Experienced ref Andy D'Urso takes charge of his second Rangers game this season following on from the 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace back in October. We have a host of other games under him going all the way back to 1997, a 2-0 home defeat against Wolves.

THE REF RECORD
Season	Games	Yellows	Reds
2005-06	26	93	8
2004-05	29	86	6
2003-04	28	83	6


OPPONENTS LINKS
Official Website	SWFC.co.uk
Fans Websites	Anzowls.com
Travel Information	Football Ground Guide

QPR CONNECTIONS

Signed from Oldham in 1980 for £270,000, Simon Stainrod went on to make 145 appearances for Rangers scoring 45 times before moving to Sheffield Wednesday in 1985 for a similar fee.

RON AND SIMON'S PREDICT-OFF

RON: Rangers are back in Sheffield this weekend and on paper this should be a much easier affair than the last time we visited the City. Of course it never works out like that but with Wednesday on a terrible run of results and Rangers set to welcome back some key players, including our favoured midfield duo, we should be looking for nothing less than a win. 2-0 to Rangers.

SIMON: Following the draw against Wolves Rangers face a very different proposition in Sheffield Wednesday. They are scrapping for their lives near the foot of the table and by all accounts their recent results are not a true reflection of their recent performances. With Bircham and Lomas back the R's midfield will have a more solid look to it but with Nygaard still missing we may lack a cutting edge. In view of all this I will go for the draw. 1-1

Current score: Ron 22 Simon 25