Leicester vs West Ham preview: Both sides look to end run of two defeats

Leicester and West Ham will both look to end runs of two straight Premier League defeats when going head to head at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Fantasy Six-A-Side

Leicester v West Ham is a Fantasy Six-A-Side game this week.

Leicester lost 3-1 to Arsenal on Monday Night Football, and currently sit 11th in the league, three places ahead of Saturday's opponents.

Manager Claude Puel is celebrating a year in the job at Leicester, but the Frenchman stressed there is much more work to be done as they look to climb back up the table.

He said: "I think in the Premier League one year is a long time for any manager in any club. It is amazing to be at Leicester City with this squad and everyone connected with the club.

"We have a lot of work but it is very interesting for me to try and develop all the parts of the club. We can continue this good work.

"I try to develop young players, to improve the squad together. We have the possibility to be near the top of the table. It is the ambition of the club and the owners. We want to compete at a high level."

Meanwhile, West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini is keen to brush off the recent 1-0 defeats to Tottenham and Brighton, but is aware they must improve in front of goal in their bid to return to winning ways.

Pellegrini said: "If you review our fixtures then in the first 10 games we played eight teams in the top half, now we have teams that are similar to us. (However) that doesn't guarantee you are going to beat them.

"Our best games we played were against Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham, Chelsea, the big teams.

"We must know where we need to improve and play like we did against Tottenham for 90 minutes, but we need to start scoring."

Team news

Jamie Vardy is a major doubt for Leicester. The striker has been battling a stomach problem since withdrawing late on in Monday's 3-1 defeat at Arsenal. He has returned to training but will be assessed ahead of the West Ham's visit.

Wes Morgan serves the second and final game of his suspension after he was sent off against Everton earlier this month.

Demarai Gray (ankle) and Matty James (Achilles) remain out for the Foxes.

West Ham winger Andriy Yarmolenko begins his lengthy spell on the sidelines following Achilles surgery.

The 28-year-old was forced off during the Premier League defeat to Tottenham, and following the operation, he is expected to be out for at least five months, and could miss the rest of the campaign.

Midfielder Pedro Obiang is carrying a calf problem, while Carlos Sanchez and Winston Reid are still sidelined.

Opta stats

• Leicester have lost just one of their last seven Premier League games against West Ham (W4 D2) - but that defeat was in the most recent meeting in May 2018.
• West Ham haven't won back to back away league matches against Leicester since April 1997, when they had a run of four wins at Filbert Street.
• Eight of Leicester's last nine Premier League goals against West Ham have been scored in the first half.
• West Ham have lost seven of their last 10 away games in the Premier League (W2 D1), although one of those victories came against Leicester last season (2-0).
• Leicester lost their last home Premier League game against Everton - they haven't lost consecutive PL matches at the King Power Stadium since September 2017 after losing to Chelsea and Liverpool.

Merson's prediction

Two evenly matched teams here. West Ham will miss Andriy Yarmolenko, which means the focus will be on Marko Arnautovic to deliver. He's more than capable though. He's 'top-six' quality.

I think he will score here but Leicester will too. Score draw.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (5/1 with Sky Bet)

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