Will they shake shake hands or won't they?
The burning question of the week, apparently.
To be honest, that was the most exciting part of the afternoon at Loftus Road, in sunny West London.
In the end Anton Ferdinand refused to shake John Terry's hand and Ashley Cole's during the pre-match 'Respect' parade.
To add to the already corrosive atmosphere, Ji-Sung Park failed to shake Terry's hand.
He repeated the snub,when as captain, it was his expected duty during the coin toss up with the ref.
As for the game the heat was more off the field than on, as neither side showed enough attacking guile pierce the other's determined defence.
Terry almost got his head to a corner by Eden Hazard on two minutes.
The Blues should have scored two minutes later, when a fine counter attack saw Ramires, on the right zip in the perfect cross to in-running Hazard.
The Belgium midfielder took the ball early, and shot low towards goal from just inside the penalty area. But new boy Julio Cesar produced a fine block with his feet, much to the delight of the home supporters.
QPR were quick on the counter too and only a glancing header from Ashley Cole prevented Bobby Zamora from getting to a fine Park left byline cross after Esteban Granero opened up the Chelsea rearguard on 10 minutes with a long defence-splitting pass.
The first booking of the game went to Chelsea's Ramires for upending Alejandro Faurlin on 14 minutes close to the halfway line.
Cesar was brought into action a minute later fending off a curling left-footed Fernando Torres shot.
QPR suffered a setback on 18 minutes when Fabio da Silva, apparently looking sick, was taken off by Mark Hughes to be replaced by Nedum Onuoha.
Booking number two, again went to the visitors, this time Ryan Bertrand for scything down ex-Blue Shaun Wright-Phillips with 11minutes of the half remaining.
Chelsea's sense of frustration with Mariner's decision-making was exacerbated when Hazard appeared to have his feet taken away by Wright-Phillips in the penalty area on 30 minutes - Mariner gave a goal-kick.
QPR suffered again when injured striker Andrew Johnson was replaced by Jamie Mackie on 33 minutes.
The Blues had another chance open the scoring two minutes later. David Luiz exercised an extravagant diving header from Lampard corner, just inside the QPR area.
The ball fizzed over Cesar's crossbar.
Lampard then tried his trademark 30-yard blaster, but the pace of the ball was gone by time Cesar snaffled the effort.
The 18,271 crowd saw the second half start in pedestrian fashion with neither side willing to give too much away.
However on 48 minutes Mackie, produced a fine piece of individual skill on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area, where his quick turn a shot, was on target, but straight into Petr Cech's midriff.
What appears to get the home crowd roaring is when their players show some grit in the tackle and a willingness to battle to get the ball off the opposition.
This, the players stared to do, and it almost reaped dividends on 55 minutes when Granero clipped the ball through to Park, but Cech was perfectly placed to grab the ball from the South Korean's header.
Victor Moses entered the fray for Chelsea, for his debut on 58 minutes, replacing the increasingly frustrated Bertrand.
Wright-Phillips showed Cole a clean pair of heels three minutes later, Sadly for the winger his first-time shot, from 25 yards, powerful though it was was, well off target.
QPR certainly dominated the opening 20 minutes of the second half, with Chelsea looking strangely languid in their play.
Park was guilty of panicking with his shot, on 64 minutes which arrowed over Cech's crossbar after excellent set-up play by Rangers.
The Blues, against the run,of play almost scored when a deep Hazard cross from the left found the head of Branislv Ivanovic. The Serbia defender arched his back and almost directed the ball past Cesar but was inches wide of the goalkeeper's right post.
QPR boss Hughes made his final substitution on 70 minutes, replacing Wright-Phillips for Djibril Cisse.
Zamora will rue his lack of clinical finishing when he rounded Cech and failed to get a shot off when the goal was gaping on 73 minutes.
The former England hit man instead checked back and by the time he kicked the ball in anger, Chelsea defenders had returned en mass to block the chance.
Chelsea quickly countered and Moses saw a fine right-footer from an acute angle, brilliantly tipped away from goal by the impressive Cesar.
Goal-shy Torres was taken off with 10 minutes remaining by Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo - Daniel Sturridge coming on to inject some pace and attacking nous.
With five minutes to go, Hazard squandered an excellent chance when QPR were opened up by the incisive Moses, but the midfielder failed to add composure to his mercurial talent and side-footed a clear chance over Cesar's crossbar from 12 yards out.
Lampard repeated the door seconds later following sharpe counter-attack.QPR tried their hardest to press for the winner, but the ref blows his whistle to end the game.
Terry got a hug from ex-Blue Bosingwa as the players left the pitch and calm restored to the stands - until the next time.
Teams: QPR, Cesar, Ferdinand, Park, Johnson, Wright-Phillips, Granero, Nelson, Bosingwa, De Silva, Zamora, Faurlin.Sub! green, Cisse, Taarabt, Mackie, Onjoha, Dyer, Hoilett.
Chelsea, Cech, Ivanovic, Cole, Luiz,Ramires, Lampard, Torres, Mikel,Hazard, Terry, Bertrand.sub, Turnbull, Romeu, Oscar, Moses, Sturrudge, Cahill, Azpilicueta
Referee Andre Mariner.