Leicester City vs West Ham United. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance32,060.
Saturday 31 December 2016 14:47, UK
West Ham will hope to continue their impressive run of wins in their New Year's Eve clash against Premier League champions Leicester, who are in the midst of a torrid run of form in the league.
The Foxes are three points off the drop zone and have won only two of their past 10 games in the league while progressing to the last 16 in the Champions League.
However, Bilic insists that it was always going to be difficult to maintain the heroics they produced last season.
"From last season, the only way was down," Bilic said.
"It was not a miracle, but it was a big achievement for them, one of the biggest in football history so it was difficult, especially for the manager, to maintain that level.
"The Champions League didn't help, definitely. They did tremendously well in the Champions League. In the Premier League, okay they didn't do well but they are now in a position that they are not happy about it. But there's still a long way to go."
West Ham will welcome back midfielder Pedro Obiang for their trip to Leicester on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Spaniard missed the Hammers' Boxing Day win at Swansea due to suspension but should start for their New Year's Eve clash.
Midfielder Manuel Lanzini is back in training as he recovers from an abdominal strain sustained against Hull but remains sidelined. Bilic confirmed that defender Sam Byram trained with the squad on Wednesday but will be out for up to "five or six weeks" with an ankle problem.
Gokhan Tore (knee), Reece Oxford (ankle) and Simone Zaza (knee) are unavailable while defender James Collins could return to the squad after missing the last few games with a muscular injury.
Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri confirmed Riyad Mahrez will start after he came on as a second-half substitute against Everton.
Robert Huth and Christian Fuchs are also available after one-match bans but Vardy continues to serve a three-match suspension.
Leicester are unbeaten in their past three in the Premier League against West Ham (W2 D1) - they've never gone four without defeat against the Hammers in the Premier League.
West Ham last failed to score against Leicester in a league match in August 2004 (in the Championship).
West Ham have beaten the reigning Premier League champions only once in an away match (D1 L18), beating Manchester United 1-0 in December 2001.
Leicester haven't lost their final league match of a calendar year since 2010, winning three and drawing two in the five years since.
The Foxes have lost two of their last four home Premier League games - as many as they'd lost in their previous 31 top-flight matches at the King Power Stadium.
West Ham have won their last three Premier League games - they last won four consecutively in February 2014.
Leicester are without a clean sheet in any of their last 11 Premier League games, their worst run since August 2014 (also 11 games). They last went on a longer run in April 2002, when they went 14 top-flight games without a shutout.
Since the start of last season, Michail Antonio has scored 16 Premier League goals for West Ham - five more than any other Hammers player (Payet and Carroll on 11).
Foxes midfielder Andy King's last league brace came against West Ham in a Championship encounter in October 2011.
Leicester have made the second-worst start by a top-flight reigning champion after 18 games (17 points), since Ipswich in 1962/63 (15 points, assuming three for a win).
No Jamie Vardy again for Leicester, while West Ham had a great result at Swansea. I'm going with a West Ham win - I watched them against Hull at home and they were absolutely rinsed, but won 1-0 when it could have been four for Hull.
All of a sudden, they go to Swansea and the players want the ball. There's no pressure on them at Leicester, but there is for the hosts.
With Andy Carroll up front, West Ham are a completely different team. These wins have given them confidence and all of a sudden they're flying - while Leicester are struggling at the moment.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-3 (28/1 with Sky Bet)
It's an even-money chance with Sky Bet for Premier League champions Leicester to bounce back from defeat to Everton on Boxing Day with three points against West Ham at the King Power. The Hammers are 5/2, with the draw available at the same price. The Foxes are 9/4 to win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1, and 5/1 to win by exactly two goals. It's 8/13 for both teams to score, with Islam Slimani (5/1) and Andy Carroll (6/1) rated the likeliest first goalscorer from each side.
