Team news

Late tests for Palace pair Crystal Palace will check on Danny Butterfield and Alan Lee ahead of the visit of Neil Warnock's QPR.

Defender Butterfield has been sidelined for three weeks with a hamstring injury but is close to returning and could replace midfielder Johnny Ertl, who has been deputising at right-back.

Striker Lee has been struggling with a groin problem and missed the 3-1 win over Preston on Easter Monday which lifted Palace out of the bottom three.

Left-back Lee Hills returns from a two-match ban so Clint Hill could move back to centre-half with Matt Lawrence dropping out.

Rookie defender Nathaniel Clyne is not expected to be fit due to a hip injury.

Victory for Palace would see them leapfrog Rangers, the team Warnock joined after quitting Selhurst Park last month.

Radek Cerny will return in goal for QPR. The former Tottenham goalkeeper has not figured for the first team since January but is now the club's number one again after Carl Ikeme's loan spell from Wolves came to an end this week.

If Warnock decides to include a keeper among his substitutes then Shane McWeeney will be added to the squad, otherwise midfielder Mikele Leigertwood will don the gloves in an emergency.

Elsewhere, striker Tamas Priskin could return but defender Matt Connolly will probably miss out again with an ankle injury.

Dusko Tosic will push for his debut at left-back after joining on loan from Portsmouth recently.

Midfielders Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands are still out with knee injuries.

Crystal Palace vs QPR

Last modified 15:02 20/04/10

Warnock returns to haunt Eagles Neil Warnock returned to Crystal Palace for the first time as the QPR boss and plunged his old club back into relegation trouble following a 2-0 win.

The scene was set for Palace, the penniless team Warnock quit last month for the riches of west London, to leapfrog Rangers in the table with a victory.

Instead, Warnock twisted the knife as Akos Buzsaky's early strike and Kaspars Gorkss second-half header brought Palace's recent revival shuddering to a halt.

The Eagles, who are still in administration, are now just a place and a point above the drop zone while Rangers can breathe easier after a first win in eight.

Warnock, who claimed prior to the match that he was in a no-win situation as he does not want to see Palace relegated, received a mixed reception before kick-off.

He had barely reached the dug-out when, five seconds in, Rangers centre-half Damion Stewart was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Eagles striker Calvin Andrew.

Stewart had to be stretchered off while Andrew soldiered on before eventually having to be replaced.

By then, Rangers had already taken an 11th-minute lead after Palace failed to clear Hogan Ephraim's cross and Buzsaky rifled his 11th goal of the season from the edge of the area.

Buzsaky, who has been in and out of the team since Warnock took over, looked eager to make the most of his latest chance and nearly doubled the lead with a dipping volley which flew just over.

Palace would have equalised eight minutes before the break but for a stunning save from Rangers keeper Radek Cerny. Overlapping left-back Clint Hill looked certain to score after being put through by Darren Ambrose but Cerny kept out his shot at full stretch.

Rangers could have gone further ahead shortly after the break when Ephraim chested Adel Taarabt's pass into the path of Tamas Priskin but the Hungarian striker's shot was wayward.

But they did double their lead on the hour when Taarabt swung in a corner and Gorkss got ahead of his marker to head home.

Palace, to their credit, did not give up and Stern John volleyed over before Neil Danns squandered two decent chances, rolling a shot wide before firing another straight at Cerny.