West Brom v Leicester preview: Wes Morgan's fitness to be assessed ahead of trip to Hawthorns
Saturday 29 April 2017 13:56, UK
Defender Wes Morgan will be assessed ahead of Leicester's trip to West Brom in the Premier League on Saturday.
Morgan missed the defeat at Arsenal in midweek with a hamstring injury, but he trained on Thursday and it is hoped he will do so again on Friday, with manager Craig Shakespeare prepared to give the central defender as long as possible to prove hit fitness.
Having won his first six matches after replacing Claudio Ranieri in February, Shakespeare is now without a victory in five games, losing three, in all competitions.
He takes Leicester back to West Brom, the club he served as a player and a coach, on Saturday and Shakespeare is targeting maximum points from the remaining five fixtures.
"There are 15 points available and we want them all," he said.
"I think as a player and a manager you should always want as many points as possible - all the points. I am very greedy in that sense, I want all 15 points. I want the lot."
West Brom boss Tony Pulis expects Shakespeare to receive a good reception when he brings his Leicester team to The Hawthorns.
Asked if he would get a good reception from the home fans, Pulis said: "I should imagine so. He's from this area, he played for Walsall as well. He was a decent player. He's got his first opportunity and he's done a good job since taking over.
"He's a good football man, been in football for a long time. This is the first time he's had the opportunity to lead the team."
Team news
West Brom will be without Matt Phillips and Hal Robson-Kanu for the visit of Leicester. Both players pulled up with hamstring injuries in training on Tuesday and could also miss the trip to Burnley next weekend.
Either James Morrison or James McClean will replace Phillips while Salomon Rondon will come in for Robson-Kanu up front, as Albion look to break a four-game duck without a goal.
Leicester striker Islam Slimani is expected to be available again having been kept out by a groin problem recently.
Opta stats
West Brom have found the back of the net in each of their last 17 meetings with Leicester in all competitions, scoring twice in the last four in a row.
The Foxes have won three of their last four trips to the Hawthorns (L1), winning the last two by a 3-2 scoreline.
Jamie Vardy has scored in both of his Premier League appearances versus the Baggies at the Hawthorns (two goals).
Riyad Mahrez has had a hand in four goals in his last three games against West Brom in the Premier League (two goals, two assists).
The Baggies have never previously failed to score in five consecutive league games within the top four tiers before.
Overall, Tony Pulis' side have now gone 375 minutes without a goal in the Premier League and have failed to score with any of their 45 shots since their 3-1 win against Arsenal in March.
After winning his first six competitive games in charge of Leicester, Craig Shakespeare has failed to win any of the last five games in all competitions as the Foxes' manager (W0 D2 L3).
Paul Merson's prediction
I fancy Leicester to win. They made it hard for Arsenal at the Emirates and were a little unlucky. They had a couple of decent chances to score and did well at Crystal Palace the week before.
West Brom are usually strong at home but the two 1-0 defeats to Southampton and Liverpool respectively have concerned me a little bit.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (Sky Bet odds 9/1)
Betting
West Brom are the 6/4 favourites with Leicester are priced at 9/5 with Sky Bet to win, while the draw is a 23/10 chance. Leicester are also up against the odds at 11/4 to secure a top-half finish, while West Brom have long odds of 8/1 to drop into the bottom half. Jamie Vardy heads a wide-open first goalscorer market at 5/1, while Salomon Rondon is considered the hosts' main threat at 11/2 to net first.
