West Ham United vs Leicester City

London Stadium sets the stage for a bottom-half Premier League showdown between West Ham United and Leicester City.

West Ham pulled off an epic upset at the weekend, beating crosstown rivals Arsenal 1-0 to halt a disappointing four-game winless run in the Premier League (D1, L3). Despite languishing in the lower reaches, the Irons boast a healthy 13-point lead on the bottom three and will look to expand that gap with a first set of back-to-back wins this season. The omens look good for Graham Potter’s side, considering they’ve won 11 of their last 14 top-flight encounters against promoted sides (D2, L1). However, the only blemish on this near-flawless run came in December’s reverse fixture at the King Power Stadium. Another concern comes from West Ham’s underwhelming home league record this season (W4, D2, L7), bookended by consecutive defeats ‘to nil.’

On the other hand, Leicester City’s hopes of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship are in tatters after three successive losses left them five points adrift of safety. Worryingly, they conceded ten unanswered goals in that disastrous sequence, capitulating multiple times per game on each occasion! Despite beating West Ham on his touchline debut, manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has failed to turn Leicester’s fortunes around, with that win remaining one of their four league triumphs since returning to the Premier League (D5, L17). Furthermore, the Foxes have scooped up only four points in the Premier League since defeating West Ham (W1, D1, L10) and have already conceded 2+ goals in 20 top-flight outings!