Goalkeeper Simon Royce has been struggling with back spasms since the pre-season fixture with Iran and has only trained once this week leaving a big question mark over his involvement tomorrow.
The keeper crisis worsened however when understudy Jake Cole pulled out of a practice match in the week because of a sore thigh. Ian Holloway has been desperately looking to bring in a keeper on loan but so far has been unable to finalise a deal with time running out.
In defence, new signing Ian Evatt is definitely out and will be sidelined for up to four weeks, so Georges Santos will take his place in the heart of defence alongside Danny Shittu.
Matthew Rose is odds on to start at left-back with new signing Mauro Milanese lacking match fitness. Marcus Bignot will start the game at right-back.
In the midfield, Tommy Doherty looks likely to make his competitive debut beside Marc Bircham in the centre with Martin Rowlands on the right. Lee Cook faces a late fitness test over an injured pelvis, should he not make the line-up Aaron Brown will step-in to make his debut for the R’s.
Gareth Ainsworth will not figure and is now looking to be fit for Ipswich Town’s visit on Tuesday evening.
In attack Ollie will go with a strike-force of Paul Furlong and Kevin Gallen. Dean Sturridge is back in training but won’t be risked until he proves his fitness more consistently.
New signing’s Marc Nygaard and Stefan Moore are both vying for a place on the bench.
Likely starting line-up: 1Royce, 2Bignot, 5Shittu, 6Doherty, 7Rose, 8Bircham, 10Gallen, 14Rowlands, 15Santos, 17Cook, 29Furlong.
Hull City Team News
Hull have a fully fit squad for their return to Britain’s second tier of football since 1991.
Defenders Andy Dawson and Marc Joseph have both recovered from hamstring injuries and Peter Taylor’s six summer signing’s are all pushing for starting places.
The only doubt is striker Ben Burgess but he too is expected to be fit in time.
Former Bristol City defender Danny Coles is likely to be given the job of marking Paul Furlong and former England international Nick Barmby is a definite to start.
Last season’s 29 goal star Stuart Elliott will start on the left-wing and is the one to watch.
Lowdown
Rangers have a tough task in travelling to the north-east to play last season’s League 1 runners-up on the opening day.
Hull are expected to be the strongest of the three promoted team’s despite two successiuve promotions which has seen them rise from the old 3rd Division to the the Championship in two years.
Around 25,000 are expected into the Kingston Communications Stadium to cheer on the Tigers and the home side will start as favourites.
Hull beat Premiership oppostion in pre-season and will be a very tough team to break down but should Rangers rattle the Humberside team early on the game will be there for the taking.
Watch out for Barmby and Elliott.
Ian Holloway's Thoughts
“I think they are a footballing side. I have watched a video of them and they
look a good side. I think Pete's done a great job there, they've got Nick
Barmby who is a massive part of their team at the moment, he plays with his
brain and hardly ever gives the ball away and links things together for
them.
They look like they are better suited to this division than they were in the
last one so it's going to be tough for us on their own ground with a big
support but let's see what we can do.”
Peter Taylor's Thoughts
“I've got the biggest selection problem I've ever had and that's what we
want. They're all looking fit and all showing that they want to play next
Saturday. I'll look at the reports on QPR and then make my mind up during
the early part of the week."
Hull City's Fans View By Adam Hall of Hull City Online
Q. After last season's finish are you looking to push on and continue moving forward, consolidate or are you worried about the season ahead?
We'll be happy to stay clear of relegation and consolodate our place in this division. It's a big step up after playing playing Division Three football just two years ago so we're not expecting to be challenging at the top end of the table just yet.
Q. Have you got the right man in charge of the team?
Peter Taylor took us to our first promotion in 19 years, then did it again the following season. He's got to be doing something right after managing such an achievement.
Q. How do you reckon QPR will fair in the league this year?
We've not met for some time so we don't know much about you, but we're not expecting you to be any pushovers.
Q. Your tips for promotion/ relegation?
We'll be expecting the ex-Premiership teams to be leading the way in the promotion chase, with Ipswich and Crystal Palace likely contenders. Norwich are my tip for the title. As for relegation, we don't know this league very well so at the risk of being naive we wouldn't expect clubs like Brighton or Crewe to be threats to us.
Q. Which player are you looking forward to seeing play the most?
Andrew Johnson will obviously be a big player in this division, I can't say I'm looking forward to seeing him play against us though! It will be nice to see Hull-born players like David Prutton and Adam Bolder playing at the KC Stadium (albeit for other teams), while Wolves' Carl Cort being marked by his brother Leon will be interesting!
Q. Which player is guaranteed stick when they visit your ground?
Sheffield Wednesday's Steve MacLean isn't popular with our fans. In his time at Scunthorpe he made a few enemies with us after a penalty incident, and followed that with a 'Klinsmann dive' celebration in another game. He'll probably miss both games against us this season due to injury - news that has received little sympathy from our fans.
Q. What do you think the score will be when the two teams clash?
I think we'll be happy to avoid defeat in our first game in this division, so I'll go for a score draw.
Q. What do you think of Ian Holloway and who do you pick out as the main threats in the QPR team?
We all know about Ian Holloway's character in front of the camera, but we don't know much about his managerial ability. You have some experienced forwards like Dean Sturridge, Paul Furlong and Kevin Gallen who could test our young centre backs. Tommy Doherty has always been a competitive player for Bristol City and will be a good signing for you.
Q. If one player was to be signed by a premiership club who would it be?
Stuart Elliott has been linked with Premiership clubs after his goal haul last season, but a bid is unlikely until he proves himself in this division. Even then we hope he will want to stay loyal to our club.
Q. Of your new signings, who has looked the best in pre-season?
We're expecting big things of striker Steve McPhee and defender Danny Coles who both joined us for £200,000 transfer fees. Mark Lynch could be the answer to our right-back problem after signing from Sunderland.
Q. £1million to spend..who would you buy?
A Stuart Elliott for the right wing, if one exists.
Q. Whats the atmosphere like at a home game?
Expect crowds of over 20,000. Despite the large attendances though, we don't always get a great atmosphere since moving to our new stadium. The better atmospheres are usually at away games and when teams bring big followings to the KC Stadium, which will hopefully happen on a more regular basis this year.
Previous Meetings
League: QPR 8 Draw 10 Hull 12
Cup: QPR 5 Draw 0 Hull 2
Total: QPR 13 Draw 10 Hull 14
For travel information and a good report on Hull’s stadium visit www.footballgroundguide.co.uk
Ground Name: Kingston Communications Stadium
Capacity: 25,504 (all seated)
Address: The Circle, Walton St, Hull, HU3 6HU
Main Telephone No: 0870-837-0003
Fax No: 01482-304-882
Ticket Office: 0870-837-0004
Ticket Office Fax: 01482-304-923
Team Nickname: The Tigers
Year Stadium Opened: 2002
Pitch Size: 114 x 78 yards
Shirt Sponsors: Bonus Electrical
Home Kit Colours: Amber & Black
Away Kit Colours: All Sky Blue
Kit Manufacturers: Diadora
Official Web Site: www.hullcityafc.net
Unofficial Web Sites: Amber Nectar, Hull City Online (Footy Mad) Tigers Cooperative, 3 O'Clock At Kempton, City Independent (Rivals Network), Southern Supporters.
QPR MAD Prediction- Hull 2-2 QPR