Season So Far
Today, Rangers play host to their red and white striped rivals for the first time since November 2003. On that day, the Hoops picked up a narrow 1-0 win - in fact, the last five games have been close battles. The most recent away win for The Bees was a 3-1 victory in 1964, a Mark Lazarus strike and Joe Bonson brace enough to take the points back to Griffin Park.
This season, QPR have had a mixed set of results summed up by their opening run so far this month - a 2-0 win over Derby on Tuesday that followed a defeat by the same scoreline at Milton Keynes Dons last weekend.
They have had no further luck in knockout competitions either, exiting the Capital One Cup in the Second Round to Carlisle United before losing to Nottingham Forest in the Third Round of the FA Cup.
Last summer the club lost centre-back pairing Rio Ferdinand and Richard Dunne who, after a combined total of 38 years professionally playing the game, let their contracts expire in order to pursue new objectives in football.
Core players Joey Barton [Burnley] and Bobby Zamora [Brighton & Hove Albion] also left, so permanent additions were made in the form of Daniel Tozser [FC Parma], Alex Smithies [Huddersfield Town] and Tjaroon Chery [FC Groningen].
The January transfer window also gave the team a chance to adapt and exchange a host of players to balance the squad. Fullback Yun Suk-Young joined Charlton Athletic, Leroy Fer went to Swansea City and Sandro agreed a deal with West Bromwich Albion. Steven Caulker was also recalled from his loan spell at Southampton so that he could be sent to Liverpool.
Meanwhile, coming in were; Conor Washington [Peterborough United], Matt Ingram [Wycombe Wanderers] and Abdenasser El Khayati [Burton Albion].
The Gaffer
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink took charge of The Hoops at the beginning of December, following the departure of Chris Ramsey. The Dutchman was brought in from Burton Albion, where he had just won promotion from League Two and had taken the team to the top of League One.
Formerly a quick and powerful forward, Hasselbaink played for the likes of Leeds United, Atletico Madrid and Chelsea. Despite earning two Golden Boot awards, he never won a domestic title in England. His only trophy win with Chelsea came in 2000's Community Shield match against Manchester United at the old Wembley Stadium, Hasselbaink opened the scoring in a 2-0 win.
Match Officials
Referee: Frederick Graham
Assistant Referees: Neil Hair and Guy Stretton
Fourth Official: Lee Swabey
Ticket News
Sold out: The Bees were given nearly 3,000 tickets for this highly-anticipated encounter, all of which have now been sold.
Bees Player
You can hear live commentary on Bees Player from 2.30pm today, with Mark Burridge and Ciaran Brett.