Ryan Nelsen is hoping that the memories of last season’s game with Liverpool will inspire QPR when they face Brendan Rodgers’ side on Sunday.

With 15 minutes left, the Reds were leading 2-0 at Loftus Road, but Shaun Derry, Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie struck to give the R’s a sensational victory.

That result was the turning point in their campaign as they won all their remaining four home games to clinch survival by a single point.

If a first win of the season over Fulham on December 15 was a relief then a win against the five-times European Champions again could inspire another great escape.

“The guys said that those 20 minutes last season against them changed the momentum of the whole season,” Nelsen told London24.

Following Sunday’s game, the R’s make the short trip to Stamford Bridge for the west London derby with Chelsea on January 2 as they round off their Christmas programme.

And the New Zealand international knows how important these games are for the club.

“It’s always really important,” he added. “When you have the games in quick succession you can sneak points but, in a week’s time, think ‘hang on, we’ve got nothing.’

“It’s a great opportunity to do some upsets when teams are tired.”

Nelsen knows what an in-form QPR can do, when former club Tottenham, who were chasing third place, visited Loftus Road and came away with a 1-0 defeat.

“It’s a confidence thing,” he added. “Only the individuals themselves can gain confidence.

“The manager doesn’t have a magical wand and things like that.

“It’s the players’ ability to become confident in themselves and that then generates through the team and generates momentum.

“Generally you can push on and win games so hopefully we can do that.”

Despite sitting in the relegation zone, Nelsen believes that they can take some positives from their recent run of form, especially the fact that they’re now hard to beat.

“The belief is still there [that we can survive],” he added. “We know that when we don’t play that well we’re still in games.

“In the Premier League, you’ve got to stay in games.

“We’ve got some big games at home that we’re really looking forward to.”

One area that the R’s have struggled this season has been in the goalscoring department, being among the league’s lowest scorers, and Nelsen knows that something is missing in this area.

“We just lack something from everybody going forward,” he added.

“It’s about keeping your position and creatively going forward.”