Leicester City come to London Stadium tonight with one of the worst records of recent form in the Premier League: Ten defeats in the last eleven games which is surely relegation form if not turned around. They lie eighteenth with nineteen points, behind Wolves who are their nearest rivals but only two spots below West Ham.
After West Ham’s impressive 1-0 away win on Saturday, the principal discussions have been around Graham Potter’s team selection for the home match against weaker opponents: Will Potter start the same squad or perhaps, as some have suggested move to a 4-3-3 starting eleven with Evan Ferguson getting a start?
After so many poor West Ham first halves and no less than ten goals conceded in the first fifteen minutes so far this season (soccerstats.com), it would not be surprising for Potter to set up with the same more defensively-oriented 11 who started at The Emirates in a 3-5-2 configuration – and then varying at half time if all is well.
This is a very important game for West Ham who need to build on their momentum generated from the three points stolen on Saturday with another three tonight, to leave well behind any lingering doubts of being dragged into a relegation battle.
So our ‘best guess’ as to Potter’s starting eleven is – cautiously – the same eleven who started on Saturday:
Areola | Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell | Wan Bissaka, Soucek Alvarez, Ward Prowse, Scarles | Bowen Kudus
And then morph into a more aggressive 4-3-3 with Cresswell giving way to Ferguson after half time ( or sooner if West Ham go behind!)
Sean 1-0 West Ham
Gonzo 3-0 West Ham
Matt 2-0 West Ham
Martin 2-1 West Ham with a Kudus special and JWP free kick – finally- as Leicester have the worst record for conceding set pieces..
Remember to check back for the official team announcement at 18.45, at halftime for our first half summary – as the game is not televised on Sky – and Gonzo’s player ratings which will be live at the final whistle along with our ‘final whistle, first impressions’ article. You lucky people!
I predict it will be 2-0 to W.H. with a sharp header from BOWEN and the second from an own goal , which debatable could also be credited to BOWEN! hindsight is a wonderful thing !?
3-1 to the Hammers tonight is my prediction. with kudus, bowen and JWP to score.
For those who can’t get to the game tonight, it is being shown live on TNT Sports 1 with coverage starting at 7pm. My prediction 2-0 home win with goals from Kudus and Bowen. Hope Guilherme gets at least 30 minutes. COYI ⚒️
Leicester don’t do goals 2-0
It’s about time we give someone a good tanking from memory I think we had 30 attempts on goal and lost 3 nil! I think home under the lights after the heroics and a well deserved victory last Saturday the boys will be buzzing Kudus and Bowen will dominate and I’d be stunned if we don’t scored 3 or 4 tonight, so 4 – 1 win. Can’t believe everyone is so negative about the result, hopefully, it’s a comfortable victory.
Leicester to memory have conceded around 2 per game on average, and we’re 16th in the division, so to say you’d be ‘stunned’ if we didn’t outscore the average, particularly to double it, is surely a stretch. I am also optimistic about this one but I think you have to give the opposition a little more respect.