West Ham United vs Leicester City preview: Can the resurgent Foxes pull further away from the drop zone?

Premier League champions Leicester City make their first trip to the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon to take on Slaven Bilic’s West Ham United.

Currently three points clear of the relegation zone, the Foxes will look to make it three wins in a row as they clash with the Hammers. Elsewhere, the Londoners will hope to earn their first victory in five games.

Rejuvenated

Leicester City head to the London Stadium in excellent form. Having sacked Claudio Ranieri in February, his successor, Craig Shakespeare, has already picked up an outstanding three wins in as many games.

Commencing his reign with 3-1 victories over Liverpool and relegation rivals Hull City, the former assistant followed that up with an excellent 2-0 win over Sevilla to see the East-Midlanders through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The Foxes now currently sit in 15th position in the Premier League, something that Shakespeare will surely hope to improve on since his permanent appointment on Sunday evening.

Elsewhere, the Hammers fell to a late 3-2 defeat against strugglers Bournemouth last weekend, conceding a late Josh King strike. As a matter of fact, the Hammers have only won one game out of the last six and come into Saturday’s clash having not kept a clean sheet since mid-January.

As a result, Bilic’s men have fallen to 11th in the table, only six points better off than the Foxes. The team’s home form could be a major factor in the clash. West Ham have only taken victory once in 2017 in all competitions, a 3-0 success over Crystal Palace.

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Close to call

Going into the debut match between the two at West Ham United’s new stadium, there’s a relatively even record. Having exchanged blows 127 times in the past, the Clarets possess the better record, albeit marginally.

The Londoners have beat Leicester on 51 different occasions with the East-Midlanders slacking slightly behind with 46 victories. However, there has been 30 draws, including last season’s tempestuous 2-2 thriller at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes’ away record against West Ham though is abysmal. In the last 15 years, the champions have only overcome their capital opponents once and that was only last season as the Foxes stormed to the Premier League title. Goals from Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez helped the Midlanders earn the win on their final trip to Upton Park.

Although, Leicester have enjoyed the most recent success, earning the three points via a close 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in December.

Team News

Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare has revealed that he has an almost clean bill of health for the trip to the London Stadium. It seems that the Foxes will only have two absentees to worry about. On-loan defender Molla Wague is still out with a dislocated shoulder and has reportedly been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Also, French midfielder Nampalys Mendy is doubtful for the weekend. Shakespeare said that the former OGC Nice man was “50-50” to be included in the squad.

Elsewhere, the likes of Leonardo Ulloa and Islam Slimani both look to be fit. Supporters should expect inspirational duo Kasper Schmeichel and Marc Albrighton to take to the field following their heroics against Sevilla on Tuesday evening.

On the other hand, the Hammers have a few key players that could possibly be missing. Diafra Sakho and Angelo Ogbonna are both out through long-term injuries so will definitely not be available for Slaven Bilic. However, both Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio could make their respective returns for the home side after recovering from knocks.

Whereas, skipper Mark Noble will be on the side-lines after sustaining an injury against Bournemouth.