When you think of Fulham and QPR's rivalry last season, one man was at the heart of it all, Bobby Zamora.
He was instrumental in Fulham's 6-0 destruction of QPR, scoring one and assisting two others. He then shocked his club by walking out on them in January to join, you guessed it - QPR.
There he was re-united with ex-Fulham manager Mark Hughes, and when the pair met Fulham at Loftus Road in late February they slipped to a chastening 1-0 loss.
Right then, the R's were seriously contemplating relegation, and both Hughes and Zamora would have been seriously considering their judgement.,
As it was, they survived by the skin of their teeth, and their near brush with relegation has led to them coming back like a comic villain, badder and stronger.
They have added another ex-Fulham striker to their ranks, Andy Johnson, who bagged a hat-trick in that 6-0 victory, which will mean even extra spice when the two teams meet next season, as if it needed it.
Fulham-QPR is not seen as one of the games' most intense rivalries, indeed both clubs like to think themselves superior to one another and prefer to think of Chelsea as their more traditional rivals.
This season the clashes will be more competitive than ever. Last season Fulham went into both games considering themselves a notch above QPR, and they were, it showed in the results, with the newly promoted side struggling for wins all season.
Heading into this campaign, QPR's aim will not be simply to avoid relegation, they will enter it with the same aspirations as Fulham; a top 10 finish, and a decent cup run. European qualification would be a bonus.
The signings both clubs have made make top half finishes more than realistic. Mladen Petric looks excellent at Fulham and big things are expected from Bryan Ruiz in his second season, while QPR's signing of Park Ji-Sung is a sign of their new pulling power and ambition.
The battle to finish in the top 10 will be very competitive next year, and there may only be room for one of them. The question is who?
image: © Tom Cuppens
Dan Coombs
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Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.
As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.
He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.
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