Redknapp: Villa are under more pressure

QPR manager Harry Redknapp says Aston Villa will be under more pressure than his players in Saturday’s crucial match.

A third consecutive victory for bottom-of-the-table Rangers would massively boost their chances of staying up and drag their relegation rivals into even deeper trouble.

And Redknapp believes playing away against Villa’s struggling young side could work in his team’s favour.

He said: “It [Villa] is a massive club with a young team and the pressure of the home crowd can affect people’s performances.

“We go into the game away from home and people wrote us off a few weeks go but we’ve put ourselves back in the picture and in there with half a chance, so the pressure isn’t really on us.”

Last weekend’s 3-1 victory against Sunderland followed a win at Southampton and preserved Rangers’ fighting chance of staying up.

“The lads are in good spirits,” Redknapp added.

“It was a great result to come back from 1-0 down against Sunderland and get three goals. That’s five in two matches now and that’s good for us.

“We were difficult to beat before but now to be scoring goals is good for us.

“It’s a big game for sure. It’s a massive game for both teams. We’re both in a real battle so it’s going to have an important bearing on the league.

“It would certainly help either side if they could get a win. It would make a massive difference to how things look on Sunday morning in terms of the table.

“There will be a great atmosphere, it’s a good stadium and we’re ready for it. The lads are in good fettle and we’re ready to go.”

Meanwhile, QPR striker Bobby Zamora has recovered from illness in time to be available for the game.

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