West Ham will welcome Leicester City to the London Stadium tomorrow, a team fresh off the back of a famous last 16 win over Seville. The Hammers will be hoping they can capitalize their opponent’s potential Champions League hangover.
The Opponents:
This will be a tough task despite West Ham’s superior league position following a fine run of form for the East Midlands outfit. Since Leicester’s controversial decision to replace Claudio Ranieri the Foxes have ‘magically’ found some of the last seasons winning formula. Whilst something may smell increasingly fishy, the club and fans won’t mind. New boss Craig Shakespeare has recovered last season’s formula and is continuing to drag the club further away from the drop, whilst also performing heroics in Europe. Now with three wins in three for the new man, Leicester are looking a difficult fixture for any Premier League outfit.
Form:
Leicester edge West Ham with their latest Premier League form, winning six points in five PL fixtures. West Ham has managed five points from their last five but it’s not as close as it might appear. The Hammers are yet to win in March and haven’t won in 4. Currently suffering back-to-back defeats, the Irons look in danger of slipping back towards the bottom. Leicester, in contrast, has won their last two and both by a 3 – 1 scoreline, the first being against 4th placed Liverpool. They will also be confident that Jamie Vardy will be the difference, managing two goals and an assist in his last two in the Premier League. The Hammers know they have a difference maker on the bench in the form of Andre Ayew. Back from injury and the AFCON, the forward has managed two goals and an assist in the three appearances from the bench.
The Teams:
Should Bilic decide to start Ayew, he will be looking to find space in and around aerial threat Andy Carroll. Carroll will be looking to recoup some of the form lost in recent fixtures, and prove Southgate wrong in leaving him out of the England set up. Whilst a lot of debate surrounds Noble’s position amongst fans, it would be unlikely to see him dropped in his central role alongside Pedro Obiang. Antonio will almost certainly play a role whether out wide or alongside Carroll. Lanzini should complete the midfield that may not have room for the likes of Fegouhli or Snodgrass. Unfortunately, the lack of room for Koyuate will likely see him resume duties at right-back alongside Reid, Fonte, and Cresswell.
Leicester will retain their regular 4-4-2 and play a similar side to Tuesday night. Okazaki played well midweek and will hope to start alongside Jamie Vardy up top. Albrighton and Mahrez will play out wide with Drinkwater bolstering the attack in the middle. Ndidi is likely to play the holding role with their tried trusted back four of Simpson, Huth, Morgan and Fuchs. Schmeichel will be in good form between the sticks following his heroic penalty save against Seville. Hopefully, the lack of rotation will play into the Hammers’ hands following an intense CL fixture during the week.
Predicted XI’s
West Ham United:
GK) Randolph
RB) Kouyate
CB) Reid
CB) Fonte
LB) Cresswell
LM) Lanzini
CM) Noble (C)
CM) Obiang
RM) Antonio
CAM) Ayew
CF) Carroll
Leicester City:
GK) Schmeichel
RB) Simpson
CB) Huth
CB) Morgan (C)
LB) Fuchs
RM) Albrighton
CM) Ndidi
CM) Drinkwater
LM) Mahrez
ST) Okazaki
ST) Vardy
Odds:
West Ham 11/8 Draw 13/5 Leicester 12/5
My Prediction:
It will be a tough game but I’m hoping fatigue will hamper Leicester. I would go for a Hammers win at home. However, Leicester form shows no signs of slowing and Vardy’s pace on the bigger London Stadium pitch will be a problem for our back four.