Premier League preview: West Ham v QPR

Loic Remy could make his debut for Queens Park Rangers at West Ham United on Saturday in what looms as a major London derby for both teams.

Bottom-placed QPR have broken their own transfer record to lure French forward Remy from Marseille as part of their uphill battle to avoid relegation from the English Premier League.

Under the guidance of manager Harry Redknapp, QPR boosted their top-flight survival credentials with clean sheets against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in their past two league outings.

QPR accounted for European champions Chelsea 1-0 away from home, before holding Redknapp’s former side Tottenham to a 0-0 stalemate the following week.

The Loftus Road team are five points adrift of Premier League safety, but will be full of confidence against an 11th-placed West Ham side that are themselves just seven points above the relegation zone.

West Ham have won just two of their past 12 matches in all competitions, with a 3-0 loss to Sunderland last time out in the league and a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United in the FA Cup on Wednesday adding to their woes.

Despite the results, manager Sam Allardyce was delighted with the performance of his charges at Old Trafford following a dismal display away to Sunderland.

“We had a fantastic level of performance on Wednesday, but what I cannot accept was the level of performance we produced against Sunderland,” he said.

“We cannot have anything other than this on Saturday when we face QPR.”

West Ham will give striker Andy Carroll every opportunity to prove his fitness as the Liverpool loanee battles to overcome a knee injury in what would be a welcome addition for the hosts.