Southampton v QPR Tip

Rickie Lambert looks like good value to open the scoring against basement boys QPR at a best price of 5/1 with Coral. Southampton’s leading marksman has found the net twice as much as anybody else playing in this match in 2012-13.

The Championship’s top scorer last season, Lambert has adjusted to Premier League life effortlessly and is the leading English forward in the division with 12 league goals to date. Six of those efforts have come in a 10-game period since Boxing Day which shows that his strike-rate is actually on the rise.

In a game where are there are fewer easily-identifiable goalscorers, the first goalscorer market becomes a better proposition. That must therefore be the case where QPR are involved; the Hoops have only found the net four times in their last 10 top flight outings. Injury-affected Zamora is leading the club statistics with just five to his name.

Behind Lambert, the Saints’ top contributers are Puncheon and Rodriquez with six apiece. You could argue therefore that the 31-year-old journeyman is twice as likely to break the deadlock as any other individual on the pitch.