Hello everyone! We're reached the penultimate weekend in the Premier League season and there is still plenty to be decided, especially down at the bottom. Queens Park Rangers may have been relegated in their last match, but Newcastle will be looking for vital points to avoid the drop at Loftus Road this afternoon.

Queens Park Rangers saw their stay in the top flight come to an end less than a year after they were promoted after being hammered by Manchester City last weekend. It put the seal on a turbulent campaign and they will just be playing for pride today, as they look to avoid finishing rock bottom of the table.

Meanwhile, Newcastle could still end up following QPR into the Championship after a dreadful run of form where they have not won for the previous nine league games. They did manage to stop the rot by fighting back to draw against West Brom and a much-needed victory today will be enough to keep them up, if Hull fail to beat Tottenham.

Right, the teams have just been announced, so let's take a look at who will be starting at Loftus Road at 3pm.

QPR XI: Green, Caulker, Dunne, Hill, Phillips, Henry, Barton, Onuoha, Hoilett, Fer, Austin

NEWCASTLE XI: Krul, Janmaat, Coloccini, Dummett, Gutierrez, Colback, R.Taylor, Sissoko, Cabella, Perez, Riviere

QPR SUBS: McCarthy, Wright-Phillips, McCarthy, Yun Suk-young, Doughty, Furlong, Grego-Cox, Comley

NEWCASTLE SUBS: Woodman, Anita, Abeid, Gouffran, Aarons, Ameobi, Cisse

So, that's how the our teams will be lining up this afternoon. Let's start with the hosts, who have made two changes from last weekend's defeat. Nedum Onuoha and Junior Hoilett are brought into the starting lineup in place of Yun Suk-young and Bobby Zamora.

There is just one change made by Newcastle manager John Carver, as Daryl Janmaat returns from suspension to take Vurnon Anita's place in the back four. Papiss Cisse is available, but he has to settle for a spot on the bench once again, with Ayoze Perez and Emmanuel Riviere chosen to lead the attack.

Well, it has been another troubled season for QPR in the Premier League and their time in the division has ended before it even begun. Their relegation was finally confirmed last Sunday, as they surrendered weakly to Manchester City and fell to a 6-0 defeat at the Etihad, which led to claims from Joey Barton that one or two 'bad eggs' had spoiled it for everyone.

© Getty Images

It was never going to be easy for the R's and after losing six of their opening eight league matches they were rock bottom at the table and already four points adrift of safety. They continued to struggle and things got even worse when Harry Redknapp left in February.

Chris Ramsey was then given the dreaded task of trying to keep the club in the top flight and he did manage to guide them to their first away win of the season at Sunderland that briefly lifted them out of the relegation zone, but a five-game losing run quickly followed and they have never been able to recover since.

Aside from last week's embarrassment at City and a couple of defeats to Manchester United and Tottenham earlier in the season, they have rarely been hammered and most of their losses have been by the odd goal. However, their poor defensive record speaks for itself and if you concede 67 goals in the top flight then your chances of staying up are going to be slim.

Hoping to avoid following QPR down to the Championship are a Newcastle side in real trouble. They have won just two league games since the turn of the year and are now down to 17th in the table. For a brief moment in their match against West Brom last weekend they slipped into the relegation zone when Victor Anichebe fired the visitors in front, but Ayoze Perez rescued them a point to end an eight-game losing streak.

That point could prove to be massive for the club and they are now two clear of Hull, who did the Magpies a huge favour by losing to Burnley last week. As I mentioned before, Newcastle could secure safety this afternoon if they win and the Tigers fail to beat Tottenham, so the stakes really couldn't be higher.

There really was no indication that Newcastle would be in this much trouble and they were 11th in the table at the end of February before their dreadful run started. They have struggled under John Carver, who is not expected to stay beyond the end of the end of the season, and off the field problems including protests against Mike Ashley have contributed to their downwards spiral.

In the summer you suspect that there will be huge chances to not just the management, but also the playing staff. They desperately need to shore up a leaky defence, which has conceded 61 goals, while they have also struggled down the other end of the pitch. A return of 37 goals is just not good enough, but they have had to coincide with the recent suspension of top-scorer Papiss Cisse, who was banned for seven-matches for spitting at Jonny Evans.

A goal from Moussa Sissoko was enough to give Newcastle the points when these teams met back in November. It gave Newcastle a fifth successive win in the league and saw them move up to fifth place in the table, which makes their position in the league now even more shocking.

© Getty Images

That result was Newcastle's fourth win in a row against QPR and stretched their unbeaten run over today's opponents to nine games. You have to go all the way back to 1995 for the R's last win in this fixture, as a double from Les Ferdinand and a strike from Simon Barker earned them a 3-0 victory at Loftus Road.

PREDICTION: This really is a must-win game for Newcastle, with their Premier League status on the line. Although they didn't beat West Brom last week, it was crucial to stop their losing run and they will have regained some confidence from the result. QPR, meanwhile, will want to earn back the respect of their fans after last week's showing, so I don't expect them to make it easy for the visitors. However, I am going to plump for a 2-1 win for Newcastle, that should be enough to secure their survival.

If you haven't already checked out our preview for today's match, then there's still time with five minutes left to go until kick off!

KICKOFF! We are underway at Loftus Road!

There hasn't been too much to report in the opening stages of this match, but at the moment QPR are doing most of the attacking. Newcastle would love to get off to a great start this afternoon and an early goal would certainly settle their nerves.

Perez very nearly punishes QPR for some slack defending, as Hill's header back to his keeper gives him a slight chance, but Green is off his line quickly to punch the ball clear before the Spaniard is able to get a shot away.

It really has been a very scrappy start to the match and both teams have failed to keep hold of the ball for long. There has not been too many flowing passing moves and the ball has spent most of the time up in the air.

We're still waiting for things to settle down at Loftus Road, but it does look like it's going to be a real battle this afternoon. Both teams are obviously very short of confidence after the season's that they have had and moments of quality will probably be few and far between.

SHOT! We've finally seen out first effort on goal and it comes from Barton. The QPR midfielder picks the ball up around 25 yards out from goal and hammers in a low strike, but it is hit straight at Krul, who ends making a comfortable stop.

QPR are looking the more threatening at the moment, but they have still not been able to seriously trouble Krul. You would expect their opponents to be on the front foot, with their place in the top flight at stake.

SHOT! First effort of the match for Newcastle, as Cabella cuts inside from the left and drills in a low strike towards the near post, that lacks any power and is easily gathered by Green.

It's taken him more than 18 hours to score in the Premier League, but Riviere finally breaks his duck and it may prove to be a massive goal for Newcastle. The Frenchman capitalized on some terrible defending from QPR to latch onto Krul's long ball over the top and he then gets lucky with the finish, as he kicks the ball into the ground and it ends up bouncing over Green and into the net.

SHOT! Newcastle's heads are up and they win a free kick in a promising position just outside the box. Taylor is the man who takes the set piece, but he can only curl his strike a few inches wide of the far post.

That goal really has provided a major boost to Newcastle and they look to have some control of the match. As things stand, they would move up to 39 points and four clear of Hull, which would be enough to secure their survival.

Concerns here for Green, as the keeper is caught in the face by the knee of Barton following a scramble inside the box. There is blood coming from the goalkeeper's head and I think that he may have to be replaced.

SUBSTITUTION: QPR do indeed make the change, as McCarthy comes on for only his second Premier League appearance in two years, with Green making his way off the pitch. He seems to be fine now, but there is no point in taking any risk with very little at stake for his team.

There is only one team that looks like scoring the next goal and that is Newcastle. They have shown some fine link up play in the attack and have worked the ball around neatly. QPR just can't seem to keep possession and they are inviting a lot of pressure from the visitors.

Riviere almost has a chance of grabbing his second goal of the match, but when the ball drops kindly to him in the centre of the box, he completely misses his kick. There are sure to be more chances for him in this match, as QPR's defence have been so open at the back.

It's still Newcastle in command as we enter the final minutes of this first half. Carver will be hoping that his team are able to hold on until the break and not do anything stupid, as they have been the better side this afternoon.

There are going to be four minutes of stoppage time added on to the end of the first half, due to that earlier injury to Green.

SAVE! What a massive chance this is for Newcastle to double their lead. Janmaat sees his shot deflect kindly through to Coloccini, who then powers in a header from close range, but McCarthy gets down well to turn the ball wide of the post.

We've reached the halfway stage at Loftus Road and it's Newcastle who head into the break with the lead. Emmanuel Riviere's first Premier League goal for the Magpies is the difference and as things stand, it will be enough to secure their survival.

© Getty Images

Let's take a quick look at the statistics from the first half. Newcastle have slightly dominated the possession and they have had 10 attempts on goal, compared to just the one shot that QPR managed. They really have been worthy of their lead and they probably should be a couple of goals up by now.

It was certainly a memorable half for Emmanuel Riviere, who scored his first league goal for the Magpies. He has only scored twice for the club since his summer move from Monaco, with both of those coming in the League Cup, but he picked a vital time to find the net this afternoon.

1084 - Emmanuel Rivière has scored his first @premierleague goal after 1084 minutes, more than 18 hours. Sacrebleu. — OptaJean (@OptaJean) May 16, 2015

It is currently goalless in every other Premier League match this afternoon, which is great for Newcastle. At the moment they are up to 14th place and heading four points clear of the relegation zone. Hull will stay in the bottom three, with Sunderland just points ahead of them.

QPR take the kick off and get the second half started!

DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION: The hosts have made a couple of changes at the break with Yun and Grego-Cox coming on for Hoilett and Caulker.

CHANCE! This is a huge moment in the game for QPR who very nearly draw level. Austin does well to get in behind down the left and he stands up a cross for Phillips. The midfielder then drills in a low strike that looks headed for the bottom corner, but Gutierrez is back to make a crucial block and turns the ball behind for a corner.

YELLOW CARD! The first booking of the match is shown to Barton for a challenge on Gutierrez, although there didn't seem to be much in it.

CHANCE! Another wonderful opening for QPR, as Austin battles well against Coloccini and Dummett inside the box, before working some space to shoot. However, he ends up dragging his final effort and the ball goes out for a throw in.

QPR have played well since the break and they are deservedly back on level terms. Austin breaks clear down the right, before delivering a superb cross to the back post that is headed in by Phillips.

There is some good news for Newcastle, as Nacer Chadli has scored to give Tottenham a 1-0 lead over Hull. That won't be enough to ensure Newcastle's safety, but they will be three points ahead of Hull with one game left to play.

Newcastle are pressing forward in search of a second goal, but they are leaving themselves exposed at the back. This time they are caught on the counter and Austin charges down the left, before getting to within shooting distance and curling a shot into the arms of the keeper.

Wow! What a stunning goal this is from Fer! The midfielder collects a loose ball 25 yards out from goal and takes a touch, before blasting a wonderful strike into the top corner. There was no chance of Krul saving that and it means that Newcastle have it all to do now.

MISS! Big chance for Newcastle to draw level, as the ball drops kindly to Dummett inside the six-yard box. However, the defender gets his effort all wrong and hammers the ball into the stands.

DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION: Carver has reacted to Newcastle falling behind by making a couple of attacking chances. Cisse and Aarons are both on, with Riviere and Taylor the players to make way.

There has actually been another goal in the Tottenham match and they are now two goals up against Hull. It does appear as though the Tigers are heading to a defeat, which will keep them firmly in the bottom three by the end of today.

Lots of pressure from Newcastle now as they keep pressing for a way back into this match. They haven't created too many chances in the second half and you have to give credit to QPR, who have looked like a different side since the break.

SHOT! Rare attempt on goal from the visitors as Gutierrez charges through the midfield and gets to within shooting range. He then fires in a low drive which is well held by the keeper, but Cisse is angry at him for not trying to slide him through on goal.

CHANCE! Down the other end of the pitch QPR blow the opportunity to open up a two-goal lead. Fer bursts into the box down the left and he delivers a low into the middle that is fired over the bar by Phillips. He was being put under pressure from Gutierrez and if he had been able to find the net, it could have been all over for the Magpies.

SUBSTITUTION: Third and final change for the visitors, as Ameobi comes on to replace Cabella.

It just isn't happening for Newcastle at the moment and the game has gone rather scrappy, just as it was in the opening minutes of the first half. There is still hope for them though, as only Aston Villa have conceded more goals than QPR in the last 15 minutes this season.

SHOT! You really wouldn't be surprised to see QPR score a third goal and they are still posing a danger. They end up creating another decent chance, as Barton's shot from the edge of the box takes a deflection and edges just wide of the post.

SHOT! Ayoze shows his danger as Newcastle break quickly down the other end. He bursts down the left and comes inside, before firing in a low shot that is held onto by the keeper.

CHANCE! Newcastle come close again as Sissoko latches onto a ball in the box that deflected off Barton, before steering the ball narrowly wide of the far post. He wasn't offside, but the flag was actually raised from the linesman, so it would have been a contentious call if that had of been ruled out.

YELLOW CARD! Second booking of the match for QPR, as Yun is shown yellow for dragging back Sissoko.

CHANCE! Cisse almost has a scoring chance when Aarons drills in a low shot that is spilled by the keeper. The striker then looks to follow up and slot home the loose ball, but Hill gets a vital block to send the ball behind for a corner.

There are going to be three minutes of stoppage time.

The pressure is unrelenting from Newcastle, but QPR are still hanging on. They have managed to win a free kick just outside the box after Barton brings down Gutierrez and it could be their last chance to score.

SHOT! Cisse takes the free kick, but it's a poor effort from the striker, who curls a weak attempt into the arms of the keeper.

The final whistle blows and QPR have come from behind to take the points this afternoon. It was a fine second-half display from Chris Ramsey's side and it means that Newcastle could still go down next weekend if they lose or draw and Hull beat Manchester United.

© Getty Images

Well, that's all we've got time for here after a crucial day of football at Loftus Road. We've got plenty of reaction to come and I'll be bringing you analysis and player ratings from the match in just a bit. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Goodbye!