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    Leicester City vs West Ham news: Hammers to inflict more misery on wayward Foxes

    Sean FisherSean Fisher11 February 2022
    Jarrod Bowen scoring against Leicester City, Aug21

    Jarrod Bowen scoring against Leicester City, Aug21

    An out-of-form Leicester side face a visit from top-four-chasing West Ham on Sunday afternoon and a 10th loss looks on the cards.

    The two sides were separated by just a point last season, but while West Ham have built on their Europa League finish and are now inside the top four, Leicester have faltered and lie 12th.

    With his side having failed to win any of their last three wins, Brendan Rodgers is under pressure at the King Power Stadium. In contrast, David Moyes continues to pick up the plaudits as West Ham punch above their weight in the Champions League places.

    Even with home advantage, Leicester's poor run of form allied to an awful recent record against the Hammers only points one way.

    When: Sunday, February 13, 16:30 GMT

    Where: King Power Stadium, Leicester

    How to watch: Sky Sports

    Or follow live updates from our match centre

    Who is the ref for Leicester vs West Ham

    Michael Oliver, Premier League, referee,

    Michael Oliver is the man in the middle for Sunday's clash. The 36-year-old took charge of Wolves vs Arsenal last time out, controversially sending off Gabriel Martinelli for two yellow cards offences during the same passage of play.

    It was the second red card Oliver has handed out this season, with the other coming in this reverse fixture when Ayoze Perez was given his marching orders.

    Premier League stats (2021/22): Appearances (16), yellow cards (50), red cards (2), penalties (2)

    Recent form

    West Ham enter Sunday's game off the back of a 1-0 win over Watford courtesy of Jarrod Bowen's second-half goal.

    Before that, though, Moyes' side experienced a slight bump in their season. Back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Leeds United hindered their Champions League charge, and a fortuitous win over Kidderminster in the FA Cup hardly papered over the cracks.

    However, with successive wins now under their belt, they can tackle Sunday's match full of confidence, even more so when they look at Leicester's recent struggles.

    The Foxes were completely outclassed by Liverpool in their last outing and can consider themselves lucky to escape with just two goals conceded.

    Prior to that, Leicester lost 4-1 to Nottingham Forest in a game Rodgers coined the "most embarrassing" defeat he'd suffered since taking over.
    A 1-1 draw with Brighton and a 3-2 loss against Tottenham rounds off Leicester's awful run of form, and while top six would've been expected at the start of the season, they now find themselves just nine points from the drop zone.

    Leicester and West Ham players in form

    David Moyes believes Jarrod Bowen's performances warrant an England call-up

    Jarrod Bowen not only deserves to top this list, the 25-year-old could arguably be the league's most in-form player.

    West Ham's No. 20 has tallied up seven goals and seven assists this campaign, and is knocking on Gareth Southgate's door for an England call-up.

    He's scored four in his last four appearances in the league, and with two goals in three games against Leicester, he'll fancy his chances of adding to that tally on Sunday.
    The Hammers will also hope that Pablo Fornals can continue his creative role in the heart of midfield.

    The Spaniard has been a crucial cog in Moyes' machine this season, and with five goals already to his name - including one against Leicester - he's one to keep an eye out for on Sunday.

    As for Leicester, Rodgers will be hoping James Maddison can rediscover his form of a few weeks ago, when he scored four and assisted five in five games.

    James Maddison, Fantasy football, Leicester City
    The 25-year-old midfielder has gone off the boil in his last two appearances, but West Ham will be wary of his ability.
    However, having never scored against the Hammers in his career, it'll be a first if Maddison finds the net on Sunday afternoon.

    Last three matches

    West Ham 4-1 Leicester City (Premier League - February 11, 2021)

    In the reverse fixture this season, the Hammers hit Leicester for four in the second game of the season.

    Fornals opened the scoring after 26 minutes, and Leicester's chances dwindled when Perez saw red towards the end of the first half.

    Said Benhrama doubled the lead after 56 minutes before Youri Tielemans halved the deficit. However, Michail Antonio sealed the three points with a late brace.

    West Ham 3-2 Leicester (Premier League - April 11, 2021)

    A Jesse Lingard brace gave West Ham a 2-0 lead at the break, and just three minutes into the second half, Jarrod Bowen added a third.

    With the Hammers strolling their way to three points, Kelechi Iheanacho scored twice in the final 20 minutes to set up an anxious finale at the London Stadium.

    Leicester 0-3 West Ham (Premier League - October 4, 2020)

    With the game being played behind closed doors, Leicester weren't able to call upon the support of their fans as West Ham dominated them at the King Power Stadium.
    An early Antonio goal set the tone, and Fornals piled on the misery after half an hour, before Jarrod Bowen added to the lead with eight minutes left to play.

    Last 10 meetings

    Leicester wins: 3

    Draws: 3

    West Ham wins: 4

    Leicester goals: 16

    West Ham goals: 20

    Managers' thoughts

    David Moyes and Brendan Rodgers watch on as West Ham face Leicester

    Brendan Rodgers on whether he is happy with Leicester's league placing: “I think every team other than Man City won’t be happy. That’s the reality of it.  

    “If you ask every manager are you happy, I think Man City would probably say, Pep would probably say, yeah I’m quite happy.

    “Jurgen [Klopp] won’t because he’ll want to be top. Thomas [Tuchel] won’t because he’ll want to be top."

    David Moyes on Kurt Zouma's availability: "Yes he's available to play against Leicester. There are different views and opinions on should he be available? We as a club took that decision and I stand by that.
    "I understand the criticism. I understand how severe the video was. What he did was terrible so I understand the criticism of me personally. The thing is I know where my own moral compass is. I know if it's to do with animals then people are critical. But nobody enjoys animals more than me."

    Predicted Leicester vs West Ham teams

    Leicester: Schmeichel, Thomas, Soyuncu, Amartey, Justin, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes, Maddison, Lookman, Daka

    West Ham: Fabianski, Cresswell, Diop, Dawson, Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Fornals, Benhrama, Antonio

    Leicester vs West Ham prediction

    With their last 10 meetings averaging over 3.5 goals per game, we can expect more goals to fly in on Sunday.

    But, with West Ham in considerably better form than Leicester, we're expectng the troubles to continue mounting up for Brendan Rodgers.

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