Back QPR to bounce back with victory at Carrow Road

As opening weekends go, it was certainly one to forget for both Norwich City and QPR as they found themselves on the wrong end of 5-0 thrashings by Fulham and Swansea City respectively following some disastrous defending.

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Having moved to the club in the summer following the departure of the hugely successful Paul Lambert to Aston Villa, former Birmingham boss Chris Hughton was forced to watch on as his Canaries side were taken to the cleaners at Craven Cottage.

It was a similar story at Loftus Road, where, despite some impressive new additions to the squad such as Park Ji-Sung and Junior Hoilett making their debuts for the R’s, Mark Hughes’ side were punished for a below-par performance that also saw Swansea hit the crossbar on two occasions.

The two teams now have a chance to bounce back from those five-goal thrashings as they face each other at Carrow Road on Saturday in a peculiar twist of fate.

Despite Rangers’ poor recent record against Norwich, Hughes does have an impressive attack at his disposal, including the likes of Adel Taarabt, Hoilett, Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora, all of whom can cause even the best defences in the league problems on their day.

The Canaries head into this game as 5/4 favourites in the bwin 3way football betting market to beat a side they picked up maximum points against last season, claiming 2-1 victories both home and away in what was an impressive campaign that saw them finish 12th after back-to-back promotions.

The draw can be backed at 23/10, while an away success for the Hoops, who looked far from convincing on the road last season (they recorded just three wins and 11 points from a possible 57), has been priced at 21/10.

Having managed to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth on the final day of their return to the top flight, Hughes knows his side will have to drastically improve their away form, with their 14 defeats being more than any other club suffered, while only relegated Blackburn conceded more goals on the road than Rangers’ tally of 41.

Carrow Road hasn’t proved a happy hunting ground for QPR in recent years as they have picked up just one victory in their last 11 visits to Norfolk. The Canaries are unbeaten against the R’s in five matches, which goes some way to explaining their favourites tag despite the signings that have arrived in West London over the summer.

What was immediately obvious on Saturday is that these two sides have major issues at the back and this is demonstrated by the odds of 18/25 for both teams to score in the match, as was the case in each of the two meetings last season.

This price is a little on the short side but with both teams desperate to avoid successive defeats and therefore likely to go on the attack for three vital early points, it is one which is deserving of some sizeable investment.

Despite Rangers’ poor recent record against Norwich, Hughes does have an impressive attack at his disposal, including the likes of Adel Taarabt, Hoilett, Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora, all of whom can cause even the best defences in the league problems on their day.

The Norwich rearguard will know all about the qualities of former Blackburn flier Hoilett, who managed to get his name on the scoresheet in both of Rovers’ matches against them last term.

While the form guide would point towards a narrow home victory, I’m going to stick my neck out and back a QPR win.

On paper, the Hoops have a superior squad that looks more than capable of a top-half finish, so the 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 multiple correct score bet in favour of the Hoops looks far too good to turn down at 11/2.

Recommended bet: Both teams to score @ 18/25
Outside punt: QPR to beat Norwich 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1 @ 11/2

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