By Steve Bower
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Etihad Stadium Date: Saturday, 1 September KO 17:30 GMT
TEAM NEWS
Manchester City will again be without injured trio Sergio Aguero, Gareth Barry and Micah Richards.
Joleon Lescott and Jack Rodwell will hope for recalls while Scott Sinclair may make his debut.
QPR could give a debut to midfielder Esteban Granero, signed this week from Real Madrid.
New goalkeeper Julio Cesar will not feature as he awaits international clearance, and Samba Diakite is also missing for personal reasons.
MATCH PREVIEW
This fixture will immediately evoke memories of the incredible scenes witnessed at the Etihad Stadium just 16 weeks ago. It was a pivotal day for both clubs and Manchester City will certainly hope they see a repeat of those title celebrations again soon.
Queens Park Rangers, though, won’t want to be involved in any more final-day survival drama, and the fact that they preserved their Premier League status in May has enabled Mark Hughes to continue his rebuilding work at the club. But for events at the Britannia stadium that day it could have been a different story and different division this season.
As the campaign goes on it’s going to be interesting to see how Manchester City find defending the Premier League title as opposed to trying to win it for the first time. They are now the team everyone wants to beat.
They have hardly come charging out of the blocks. They trailed at home to Southampton and could have easily left Anfield with nothing last week. Their foundation last season was their defence and Joe Hart’s 17 clean sheets but they’ve been unusually open so far.
Julio Cesar’s signing this week means QPR have brought in three recent Champions League winners in the last eight weeks and a whole new team since losing at City on 13 May. They will take time to gel and what the club needs now is some stability and consistency. Incredibly they have used 46 different players in the league in the last 15 months.
Last week’s point at Norwich was an encouraging response to their opening-day nightmare. Amazingly it was only Mark Hughes’ second point away from home since taking charge and ended a run of seven straight defeats on their travels.
That is an area that needs a distinct improvement if they are to be more comfortable next May. Only Fulham and Sunderland have left Manchester City with a point since December 2010 – if QPR were to join them it would raise a few eyebrows.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Both of last season’s fixtures ended in 3-2 wins for City, although Rangers led in each game.
The London side have scored 10 goals in their last four league and cup games away to City, three of which were at Maine Road.
Manchester City have won 21 of the 48 previous meetings, compared to QPR’s 12 victories.
Manchester City
Roberto Mancini’s men are unbeaten in 30 Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium, winning 28. Fulham (then managed by Mark Hughes) and Sunderland are the only sides to claim a point there since December 2010.
It is City’s longest unbeaten home run in league football since a 41-game streak between 1919 and 1921.
They have netted 26 times in their last nine games in all competitions (including the Community Shield). However, they have conceded two goals in each of their last four matches.
This will be Roberto Mancini’s 100th Premier League game as Manchester City boss (W61, D19, L19).
Queens Park Rangers
QPR have gone 14 matches without an away win in the league since beating Stoke in November (D3, L11).
Mark Hughes is still waiting for his first away win as Rangers boss.
It is 17 games since they last kept a clean sheet in a Premier League away match (courtesy of a 3-0 win at Wolves in September 2011).
