Tottenham vs. QPR: Spurs looking to take three points from QPR home banker

Tottenham had a strong showing against Lazio in the week, perhaps unlucky to come away with a draw.

You feel Spurs fans will be far less forgiving if they draw this game as they were on Thursday night. 

A win today would secure a sturdy start to the season for the men from the Lane.

On the other hand, a loss for QPR would see the early signs of alarm bells ringing at Loftus Road.

The R’s only have two points on the board from their four games, and are without a win. It is a record that will not have been helped by Southampton’s first victory yesterday afternoon. 

One of the biggest decisions for Spurs boss, Andre Villas Boas, will be whether he keeps Hugo Lloris back in goal from the week, or whether he re-installs his senior keeper, Brad Friedel. 

Spurs will also be giving Emmanuel Adebayor and Kyle Naughton fitness tests, while QPR are struggling for defenders with Anton Ferdinand, Fabio, Stéphane Mbia and Armand Traore all out injured. 

It will do Mark Hughes’ stress levels no good that Samba Diakité is also out due to personal reasons and Adel Taarabt is a doubt. 

Not that they are likely to need them, but the omens all seem to be shaping in Spurs’ favour and I fully expect them to take three points, possibly with quite a heavy score-line if Defoe still has his shooting boots on.

Adam Appleton, football correspondent