West Ham United and Leicester City will seek a crucial win in the Premier League when they meet at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The 2022/23 season will pause for over a month after this weekend, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup just over a week away. The Premier League will feature eight fixtures on Saturday, with West Ham United taking on Leicester City at the London Stadium during the “Goal Rush” segment.
West Ham United have been uncharacteristically inconsistent in the Premier League this season. After two memorable campaigns that clinched European qualification, David Moyes might have liked his squad to have stepped up the performance levels. But the Hammers have lost eight of their 14 Premier League games thus far. And they went out of the Carabao Cup on penalties to Blackburn Rovers this week.
On the other hand, Leicester City endured a horrendous start to the 2022/23 season, falling to the bottom of the table after the first month. But the Foxes have been rising through the Premier League table in the last few weeks. Brendan Rodgers’s men have lost just one of their last five top-flight games, and the top half is in sight.
The corresponding fixture last season saw West Ham United cruise to a 4-1 win over Leicester City. Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma, and Michail Antonio scored for the Hammers, with Youri Tielemans netting the consolation strike. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
West Ham United
WEST HAM | Emerson Palmieri is “touch and go” after breaking his nose in midweek, while Maxwel Cornet (calf) is definitely out.
David Moyes otherwise reported his usual “knocks and niggles” in Friday’s presser.#FFScout | #FPL | #WHUFC ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/TSDMetNXey
— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) November 11, 2022
David Moyes has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of the visit of Leicester City. On Saturday, the West Ham United manager might be bereft of the services of as many as two first-team players.
Emerson Palmieri might be the latest absentee after the Italian international broke his nose against Blackburn Rovers. David Moyes revealed in his pre-match press conference that Emerson is “touch and go” for the Leicester City game. But Maxwel Cornet remains unavailable due to a calf injury.
Aaron Cresswell is an automatic pick as the left-back in Emerson’s potential absence. And Thilo Kehrer should start ahead of Vladimir Coufal on the right flank. Craig Dawson and Kurt Zouma should pair up at the heart of the West Ham defence, with Lukasz Fabianski picking himself between the sticks.
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek have been the go-to midfield pair under Moyes, despite Soucek’s issues here and there. The duo will dictate if West Ham can overcome a tricky Leicester test by winning the midfield battle.
Jarrod Bowen has been sub-par by his enormous standards this season. But the English attacker has a solid recent record against Leicester City and will hope to inspire West Ham to a big result this weekend. Bowen will join Lucas Paqueta, Said Benrahma and Gianluca Scamacca in the final third.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Kehrer, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Scamacca
Leicester City
Like his counterpart in the West Ham United dugout, Brendan Rodgers has a new injury concern to deal with ahead of the trip to the London Stadium. The Leicester City manager will be without four first-team players on Saturday.
James Justin is the latest absentee, with Rodgers confirming in his pre-match press conference that the youngster has sustained an Achilles injury. Justin has joined Ricardo Pereira (Achilles), Caglar Soyuncu (hamstring), and Ryan Bertrand (knee) on the sidelines.
On West Ham and our final match before the World Cup ✊
“We’ll attack the game as we have been recently. We’re scoring goals away from home, we have that resilience back. They’re a good side with some really good players. We’ll have to play well to win.” pic.twitter.com/cK6zFQXgjs
— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 10, 2022
Luke Thomas will likely replace Justin on the left side of the Leicester City defence, with Timothy Castagne being an automatic pick on the right flank. Jonny Evans and Wout Faes will likely form the central defensive unit, with Danny Ward lining up in the goal.
Wilfred Ndidi will assume the responsibility of keeping things tight in the middle of the park. The Nigerian international will look to keep Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen quiet. Youri Tielemans, who future remains uncertain amid links with Arsenal, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will provide defensive support to Ndidi.
The duo will also look to provide the forward thrust from the central areas, bringing James Maddison into the picture. The English international will be the chief creator for Leicester while looking to test the West Ham defence with his stinging efforts. Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka should complete the offensive unit for the Foxes.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Ward; Castagne, Evans, Faes, Thomas; Ndidi; Maddison, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes; Daka
Key Stats
- West Ham United have won three of their last four Premier League games against Leicester City (D1), as many as they had in their previous 16 versus them (D5 L8). The Foxes have kept just one clean sheet in their 15 Premier League away games against West Ham, a 1-0 win in August 2000. After a five-game unbeaten run at the Hammers between 2015 and 2019, they have lost their last two Premier League visits to the London Stadium
- West Ham and Leicester have lost a joint league-high eight Premier League games thus far this season. The Hammers have faced defeat the most times by a one-goal margin this term (6).
- Leicester have won three of their last four Premier League games (L1), having won just one of their first ten this season (D2 L7). The Foxes have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five Premier League games, as many as in their previous 23.
- Leicester have dropped more points from winning positions than any other Premier League side this season (14). They are the only team yet to recover a single point from behind.
- Jarrod Bowen has been involved in five goals in his four Premier League appearances against Leicester City (three goals, two assists) – more than he has against any other opponent in the competition.
Player to Watch
Jarrod Bowen
Bowen will be raring to go after missing the ticket to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Englishman has not been at his best this season and will be desperate to rediscover his best as soon as possible. And heading into the World Cup break with momentum behind him might be the best idea.
The 25-year-old has a solid recent record against Leicester City. So David Moyes will look upon Bowen to support the in-form Said Benrahma and the unpredictable Lucas Paqueta on Saturday. How Bowen fares will go a long way in determining if West Ham will overcome a tricky Leicester test.
Prediction
West Ham United 1-2 Leicester City
The match on Saturday pits two teams that should be evenly matched on most days. But West Ham United and Leicester City have been so moody this season that it is hard to predict how they will perform on the day. So, theoretically, a hotly-contested affair should ensue at the London Stadium on Saturday.
But West Ham’s defensive unit has been more vulnerable lately, while Leicester City will not give an inch to the hosts. So the visitors should eke out a narrow 2-1 win, with Jamie Vardy coming off the bench to make the difference.
