Leicester City Match Preview
West Ham United have already booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup and claimed their first win since early January this week and they will want to finish off by adding another three points to their tally when they travel to The King Power Stadium to face Leicester City this afternoon.
Although the Hammers squeezed past National League North outfit Kidderminster Harriers last Saturday, they did at least beat them, whereas the Foxes, who are the current holders, suffered a shock defeat to fierce rivals and Sky Bet Championship side Nottingham Forest a day later.
Just as they did last season, the visitors can do the double over Brendan Rodgers’ men, should they claim three points here. You have to say that the omens are with them in order to achieve this feat, as you have to go back to January 2020 for the last time that Leicester beat the East Londoners.
You would have thought that the Irons will be the fresher of the two sides, as they have had two extra-days preparation time ahead of this game after playing Watford on Tuesday night, as opposed to the hosts, who had to travel to Anfield and battle Liverpool on Thursday.
Both teams need to rediscover some form here. The hosts haven’t won in front of their own fans since the victory against Jürgen Klopp’s side in the reverse fixture back on 28 December. West Ham on the other hand, will be looking for their first win on their travels since the 3-2 triumph at Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day.
If David Moyes decides that changes are required for this game, then Manuel Lanzini, who came off the bench to replace Saïd Benrahma last time out, will hope to reclaim his place in the starting line-up as he made a real impact against Roy Hodgson’s Hornets five days ago.
The match is a 4:30pm kick-off with live coverage being screened by Sky Sports from 4pm. The referee is Michael Oliver.