West Ham United host Leicester City at London Stadium this Thursday night, as the Hammers look to build on their impressive win at Arsenal and address their recent struggles at home.
Meanwhile, Leicester will be seeking a vital victory in their fight to avoid relegation.
The Foxes will be aiming for a repeat of their last encounter, a 3-1 victory over West Ham at King Power Stadium in Ruud van Nistelrooy's first home match in charge.
Where are both teams in the table?
West Ham currently sit 16th in the Premier League with 30 points, following their 1-0 victory over Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. However, they have lost their last two home matches, against Crystal Palace and Brentford.
Meanwhile, Leicester are struggling near the bottom, occupying 19th place with only 17 points, having suffered three straight defeats.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
27 | -4 | 32 |
| 16 |
West Ham
WHU
|
26 | -17 | 30 |
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
27 | -19 | 22 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
27 | -31 | 17 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
26 | -34 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
27 | -46 | 9 |
Upcoming fixtures
West Ham v Wolves: Last five PL meetings
23 Aug 2021: West Ham 4-1 Leicester
13 Feb 2022: Leicester 2-2 West Ham
12 Nov 2022: West Ham 0-2 Leicester
28 May 2023: Leicester 2-1 West Ham
3 Dec 2024: Leicester 3-1 West Ham
Team news
West Ham: Vladimir Coufal and Lucas Paqueta are ruled out, along with longer-term absentees Michail Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville.
Leicester: James Justin is a doubt and faces a late fitness test.
What the managers have said
On Coufal and Paqueta: "Both players are progressing, but won't make the squad on Thursday. Vladimir certainly has a chance for Newcastle. Lucas, we'll just have to see how he responds, but certainly for Leicester, no."
On Aaron Wan-Bissaka's form: "He has been really impressive. I think the wing-back role helps him a lot. It brings the best out of him. He can do both sides of the game, he is working away and I am delighted to have him."
On Leicester: "In the Premier League every game is complicated and tough. The opponent has always got something to fight for, always got something to prove, some quality against you. That is the case with Leicester, they will be looking to turn their fortunes around."
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Leicester)
On the morale in the camp: "The mood is lifted. We're in a new week and have a new challenge. We have reacted after a bad result - you could say a bad performance - before."
On the challenge of keeping Leicester up: "I called it a mountain to climb, but life is about climbing mountains and mountains are there to be climbed. That challenge I take. We will keep climbing and we slip sometimes - but we get up and start again."
On what is needed in the final months: "We have to be resilient and strong. You have to show your character, reflect, learn and improve. We know the performance against Brentford wasn't good enough, but this team has always reacted and I expect them to do so on Thursday."
Match officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, Marc Perry. Fourth official: Rob Jones. VAR: Michael Salisbury. Assistant VAR: Simon Long.
Key facts
Having won their first five Premier League home matches against Leicester between 1994 and 1999, West Ham have now won just four of their last 11 against the Foxes on home soil in the division (D2 L5).
Leicester won 2-1 against Tottenham Hotspur in their last Premier League away match against a London side – on all five occasions they’ve won on consecutive visits to the capital in the competition, their opponents have always included Spurs or West Ham (or both).
West Ham have lost 2-0 against Palace and 1-0 against Brentford in their last two Premier League home games – they’ve not lost three in a row at home without scoring in the competition since March 2001.
Leicester are the only side without an away clean sheet in the Premier League so far this season, conceding 32 goals across their 12 matches on the road.
