Hughes takes his side to the Etihad Stadium knowing that a draw would be good enough to secure their Barclays Premier League survival following yesterday's dramatic 1-0 win over Stoke.

The West London club have the worst away record in the top flight, taking only 11 points on the road so far this season but Hughes has not given up hope of upsetting the potential title party at Manchester City.

"It would be a fantastic story if we were able to go there and get something, they are going for titles and we are trying to stay in this league," he said.

"I think to be honest I probably looked at the fixtures we had when I first got the job and that one loomed quite ominously in the distant future but it is upon us now and we have still got an opportunity to stay in the league by our own effort."

Despite five consecutive home wins, the poor away form - confounded with a 6-1 loss at local rivals Chelsea a week ago - means Hughes' side are not safe going into the last day of the season but the Welshman wants his players to put that right against his former employers.

"We still have the opportunity to do it on our own, albeit in a difficult final fixture. We would like to think we've enough about us to go to City," he said.

"It should be noted we had a difficult game against Chelsea and we've bounced back. We're in a situation where we can affect it ourselves so we'll try and do that."

QPR captain Joey Barton will also face his former club next weekend and, like Hughes, he praised the home fans.

"The atmosphere was electric, it gives us such momentum. A lot of people wrote us off because our run-in was difficult," he said.

"We stayed compact as a unit. We are still masters of our own destiny. We are looking forward to a massive game."

Stoke boss Tony Pulis praised his players' approach but was disappointed with the lack of finishing.

"I was disappointed today, I don't think it was a game we deserved to lose," he said.

"I don't think anyone could question the players' attitude and application.

"When we've got in there we've not hit the target, I don't think we made the keeper make the save, though we created some great opportunities. There's about four or five chances where you'd expect us to score."