I suppose I should start by writing happy new year but then move swiftly along to the important stuff and that is the match against QPR today. I mean, that is what is important about today. Not what you might or might not be reading in the papers.
The papers and lots of other websites create stories so you will click on a link and then either click on something on that page or use you as a visitor, simply to show that they have lots of visitors and can then use a 90's model to charge people money to have an ad on the page.
The Sun is great at that as are the local press and that entire group. Basically the type of media that you would expect to be just like that. Believe 5% of what you read on those websites because their agenda is no longer the news.
There, I got that out of my system and it was with regard to a story published by The Sun stating that Tammy Abraham was going to ask Chelsea to cut his loan deal with us short so he could pursue a loan deal with another Premier League side.
While I suspect this is possible, why would he want to leave a Club when he is scoring goals to play for a Premier League side that is struggling? I mean, didn't he get enough of that last season? And surely he's happy at Aston Villa.
QPR at Villa Park
So that written, it is about the game today and it won't be easy, it's not supposed to be easy. QPR are managed by second choice Steve and while they had a horrible start to the season, they've done okay of late.
And only because I used this statistic in an earlier post, I'll use it now. They picked up ten points from a possible 18 in December, so just a little better than us. I think though because we are at home today, it should be enough. But I'll be back an hour before kick off ready to start the new year. With a beer or two hopefully.
And the match to one side for a moment, it would be nice if the Club could tell us what is happening with Jack. I mean, we know it's a shin problem, but nothing else. There is talk that he could be out for the rest of the season and if that's confirmed, Greg is going to go mad.
Match facts from the BBC
- Aston Villa have lost both of their past two league games against QPR; they have only lost three in a row against the Hoops once previously in league competition, doing so in March 1973.
- QPR won this exact fixture against Aston Villa 3-1 at Villa Park last season; they last beat the Villans in back-to-back league visits in February 1987.
- Aston Villa are unbeaten in their past eight league matches on New Year's Day (W5 D3) since losing 0-1 to Chelsea in 2001.
- QPR manager Steve McClaren has alternated between victory and defeat in each of his past five league visits to Villa Park (W2 L3), losing 1-0 in his last away game there in February 2017 while in charge of Derby County.
- Aston Villa forward Tammy Abraham has scored in each of his past four Championship appearances at Villa Park, scoring seven goals.
- QPR have won four of their last nine away league matches (D2 L3), as many as they'd won in their previous 36 games on the road.