QPR vs. Chelsea: Team news, TV & streaming information, preview, just keep winning

Technically, this is a derby.  A West London derby.  It might be the last one for a while.  QPR are likely to get relegated, while the two other teams in West London, Fulham and Brentford are both likely to stay in the Championship for next season, too.  Brentford could still make waves in the promotion playoffs, but Fulham are more concerned about not getting relegated to League One than entertaining any future dreams of a Premier League return.

To some people, mainly QPR fans, this derby matters a ton.  To us, it matters slightly less, and mostly it matters because QPR tend to be annoying.  Except for the Fernando Torres hattrick-inspired 6-1 demoliton in 2011-12, here are the results of all matches played between the two clubs since 2008 (Chelsea score first, QPR second):  2-1, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0, 1-0.  We can look even further back, into the mid-'90s and see plenty more one-goal wins and draws.  West London derbies might not get played too often, but when they do, they tend to be like most other derbies.  Intense, emotional, and closely contested regardless of the actual quality of teams involved.

And make no mistake, this edition of QPR is one of the worst in recent memory.  They lead the Premier League in losses with 20, and have the worst defensive record with 58 goals conceded.  They have two wins since Christmas, both away from home.  In the 8 home matches since beating WBA 3-2 on December 20th, they've scored 4 goals.  One of those was from Charlie Austin who's somehow one of the league leading scorers.

None of that will matter of course because it's QPR and weird things tend to happen when we play QPR.

Date / Time: Sunday, April 12, 2015, 13:30 BST; 8:30am EDT; 6pm IST

Venue: Loftus Road, London, England

Referee: Andre Marriner -- Eagle eyes Andre is back for the third time in less than three months, after overseeing our 4-2 loss to Bradford City in January and our 1-0 win at Upton Park last month.  He refereed this same fixture in 2012; that 0-0 was one of the biggest catalysts for the rise of the MaZaCar.

Forecast: Warm but windy in the W12

On TV: Sky Sports 1 (UK); NBCSN, NBC Universo (USA); Star Sports 4/HD (India); elsewhere

Online: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live Extra, Deportes Telemundo En Vivo Extra (USA); Star Sports (India)

QPR team news: They may be near the bottom of the league, but they're near the top when it comes to injuries.  Creative threat Eduardo Vargas and powerful midfielder Leroy Fer are the two most keenly felt absentees.  Less impactful are the continued absences of Adel Taarabt and Rio Ferdinand, or the return of Richard Dunne.

The Rs -- Arrrghs?  Errrs? -- have six games left, three of which are against Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City.  There may not be much left to decide by the time the game against Leicester City comes up on the final day of the season.

If you haven't yet, be sure to read our opposition analysis on Queens Park Rangers.

Chelsea team news: Diego Costa's out, Cesc Fàbregas has donned a mask, Loïc Rémy is set to make his mark.  I don't imagine we'll be doing anything super drastic when it comes to the starting lineup.  It should be noted that both Nemanja Matić and Cesc Fàbregas are on nine yellow cards for the season.  The next one they get before the second round of the yellow card amnesty kicks in would mean a two-match ban.  The amnesty starts after this game.

With Arsenal managing to survive the hoodoo of Burnley (unlike Chelsea or City), they've once again closed to gap to 4 points.  We of course have two games-in-hand.  As always, those are only useful if we actually win them.  So let's do that.

Previously: Here's Oscar's worldy from the reverse fixture earlier this season: