Can QPR pick up their first away win of the season at Everton?

QPR boss Harry Redknapp will be hoping that his side can pick-up their first away win at Everton on Monday

QPR will kick off their trip to Everton on Monday night just above the Premier League relegation zone.

The Hoops have battled their way off the bottom of the table and Harry Redknapp’s side have improved as the season has progressed.

Poor

QPR’s away form has been terrible this season, as the Hoops have lost all their seven away games this season and scoring just two goals in the process.

Sooner rather than later their away form has to improve if they are to survive in their first season back in the top-flight.

Their home form has not been too bad and that is vital to the Hoops survival, but picking-up points away from home will also aide their attempts at staying in the Premier League.

Indifferent

Unusually Everton’s home form has been poor in recent months. The Toffees have claimed just two victories in their last eight Premier League outings. In previous seasons the Toffees home form has been very strong.

Goodison Park had become a fortress for the Toffees and become vital to the Merseysider’s becoming a regular in the top six or seven in the Premier League table in the last decade. The Toffees have claimed some big scalps at the grand old stadium in recent seasons.

Last season the Toffees beat the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United at Goodison and looked supremely confident on home turf.

That home form will return at some point and despite their struggles on home turf this season Everton’s home form will turnaround at some point. The game against the visitors from London could just be the spark needed for Martinez’s side to hit form.

The Merseysider’s have been inconsistent this season, but the Toffees do tend to perform better in the second half of the season.

Everton played in the Europa League on Thursday night against Russian side Krasnodar, but Martinez decided to rest the majority of his first team players in the 1-0 reverse.  Only Gareth Barry from the eleven that started on Thursday night is likely to start this game.

Martinez’s side will be looking to avoid the Europa League curse, which has saw just one victory after European games in five Premier League encounters.

Missing

The Hoops suffered a blow last weekend, as after scoring in a 2-0 win over Burnley top scorer Charlie Austin was dismissed. The striker will be a major loss to Harry Redknapp’s side, as he has scored eight Premier League goals this season.

In fact Austin has now scored half of the Hoops top-flight goals this season. Only four other players have found the net for the visitors in the league this season, as they seem reliant on their former-Swindon star. It is difficult to see who will get the goals without the striker.

Fortunately the Hoops will only be without the striker for the trip to Merseyside and he should return for the six-pointer against West Brom next weekend. Their chances of a first away victory this season on Merseyside without their star striker are certainly reduced.

Run

Everton’s club-record signing Romelu Lukaku has not been wildly prolific so far this season. However, the highly-rated striker has scored in his last four Premier League starts at Goodison Park.

The big Belgium international will fancy his chances of continuing that run against the team with the top-flight’s worst defence. The visitors have conceded 27 goals this season in the Premier League and have looked far from solid in recent games.

Betting Odds

Despite that poor record home record, Everton are heavy favourites to win this game at odds of 9/20. The visitors are odds of 15/2 to claim a victory on Merseyside and the draw is odds of 7/2.

The Hoops may see this as a possible chance to claim their first away win, but Goodison Park is still a difficult ground to visit, especially considering that QPR are missing star striker Charlie Austin.

With Everton resting the majority of their first choice players on Thursday night, the Toffees players should be fresh and rearing to go.

Even with Everton’s poor home record, I would not bet on the Hoops claiming their first away victory of the season on Merseyside, because Roberto Martinez and his team will see this game as a chance to get their season back on track.

Can QPR pick up their first away win of the season at Everton?