Classic encounters: West Ham United vs Leicester City

Leicester City travel to the Olympic Stadium to face West Ham United on Monday night.

Classic encounters: West Ham United vs Leicester City
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United scores their team's third goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Leicester City at London Stadium on April 11, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
callum_boyle_
By Callum Boyle

Leicester City are on the road for the first time this season as they make the trip to the capital to face West Ham United at the Olympic Stadium on Monday night.

Both sides started their campaigns with a win, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United in their respective fixtures, and will look to continue on from their excellent season's last year which saw the Hammers and Foxes qualify for the Europa League.

Ahead of Monday's meeting, VAVEL looks back at some of the most memorable matches from Leicester's visits to West Ham in recent years.

West Ham 4-3 Leicester, 10 May 1998

The penultimate game of the 1997/98 campaign threw up a seven-goal thriller at West Ham's former ground Upton Park.

With both teams finishing no higher than mid-table, it had a classic end-of-season feel to the game as both sides showed their attacking emphasis.

Academy graduate Frank Lampard opened the scoring 15 minutes in with a stunning long-range effort from 25 yards. Lampard pounced after Leicester failed to close the youngster down, who rifled past Kasey Keller to give the Irons the lead.

One then became two shortly after the half-hour mark through Samassi Abou who finished off a quick-fire counter-attack from the hosts. A free-kick from the visitors was easily cleared and after a long-ball up the pitch from Stan Lazaridis, Abou used his pace to break away and finish.

The Foxes managed to reduce the deficit to one goal early in the second half through former West Ham striker Tony Cottee's composed finish.

After reading Emile Heskey's flick-on, Cottee darted in behind before slotting the ball past Bernard Lama to score against his old side who he had found the back of the net for 146 times previously.

Trevor Sinclair then restored the two-goal lead with a scrappy finish from a West Ham corner before Heskey replied instantly to make it 3-2.

The game was wrapped up just under 20 minutes from time however as Abou grabbed his second to assure the Hammers of the win.

West Ham United 1-2 Leicester City, 15 August 2015

The 2015/16 campaign will forever be remembered as the year Leicester defied odds of 5000/1 to win their maiden Premier League title under the guidance of Claudio Ranieri and on their first away trip of the season, they continued their impressive start to the season.

West Ham were also in their final year at their famous home, the Boleyn Ground before their move to the Olympic Stadium, however couldn't stop the counter-attacking threat of the Foxes.

Summer signing Shinji Okazaki gave the Foxes the lead 27 minutes in as he grabbed his first goal for the club.

A clipped ball from Jamie Vardy into the box was well read by the Japan international as he connected with a sweet first-time volley snap-shot only to be denied by Adrian.

Despite a great save from the Spaniard, he could do nothing to stop the rebound as Okazaki rose highest to head home into an empty net to give Leicester the lead.

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Riyad Mahrez then doubled the East Midlanders advantage shortly before the break.  

Good hold up play from Okazaki enabled him to release the ball into the path of Marc Albrighton who danced into the box before cutting back to the Algerian who bent the ball into the top-right corner with his wand of a left foot to put Leicester in a clear lead.

The hosts did provide a small comeback through Dimitri Payet on his home debut as he scored in the 55th minute, but they were unable to find an equaliser as Ranieri's men held on for a win that would be the catalyst for an unforgettable year.

West Ham United 3-2 Leicester City, 11 April 2021

The most recent meeting between the two provided yet another goal fest as the Hammers served a fatal blow to Leicester's top-four hopes.

The build-up to the game had been overshadowed by the news that three of Leicester's players: James Maddison, Ayoze Perez and Hamza Choudhury had all been omitted from the squad after breaking Covid-19 regulations, but in the end West Ham were deserved winners on the day.

On loan fan-favourite Jesse Lingard had reignited his career in East London following his January arrival from Manchester United and continued his hot streak in fine fashion with a brace against a side where he had also spent time on loan.

Lingard struck first just on the half-hour after he connected with Vladimir Coufal's pull-back to volley the ball past a helpless Kasper Schmeichel.

The midfielder then doubled his and West Ham's goal count on the verge of half-time following a neat counter-attack which saw him and Jarrod Bowen combine well for the latter to lay the ball to Lingard who rolled the ball into an empty net to make it two to the good.

The game was put beyond doubt as Bowen then got on the scoresheet himself three minutes after the restart. 

A late fightback courtesy of a Kelechi Iheanacho brace had West Ham on tentative hooks towards the end, but David Moyes' side held on to climb into the Champions League places and secure their first double over the Foxes since the 2011-12 campaign.