Aston Villa Hang On For A Point Against New-Look QPR

Brett Holman's early strike was cancelled out by a Jamie Mackie header in a spirited 1-1 draw at Loftus Road.

QPR v Aston Villa: Lineups

Darren Bent's back! Do you think it's just to showcase him to QPR, his potential purchasers?

Something else surprising -- Andi Weimann drops to the bench, replaced by Chris Herd. While I think young Andi could use a rest, I'm not sure about this more defensive set-up. But then you look at the cobbled-together defense (dear god, we're starting Eric Lichaj) and think...well, maybe Paul Lambert knows what he's doing.

Queens Park Rangers Starting XI: Robert Green, Armand Traore, Clint Hill, Ryan Nelsen, Jose Bosingwa, Stéphane Mbia, Esteban Granero, Samba Diakite, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Adel Taarabt, Jamie Mackie.

QPR Substitutes (from): Shaun Derry, Anton Ferdinand, Park Ji-Sung, Djibril Cisse, Fabio, Junior Hoilett, Brian Murphy.

Aston Villa Starting XI: Brad Guzan; Matthew Lowton, Ciaran Clark, Nathan Baker, Eric Lichaj, Ashley Westwood; Barry Bannan; Chris Herd, Brett Holman, Gabby Agbonlahor; Christian Benteke.

Villa Substitutes (from): Shay Given, Karim El Ahmadi, Andreas Weimann, Darren Bent, Derrick Williams, Stephen Ireland, Fabian Delph

You know what Villa are missing from their squad? People named Samba. And Fabio. That would be amazing.

Queens Park Rangers vs. Aston Villa: Open Match Thread

Aston Villa Looking For Breathing Room Against Queens Park Rangers

Aston Villa's big mid-week win over Reading pulled Aston Villa out of the bottom three and brought some peace of mind to Aston Villa fans. Can a young team badly in need of confidence build on their success against the Royals, or will a winless but new-look QPR prove to be a trap game?