In this article…
West Ham v Leicester
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Kick Off: Thursday 27th February at 20:00
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Competition: Premier League
Graham Potter’s East London revolution is starting to take shape, West Ham have steadily improved in recent weeks under the tutelage of the former Chelsea boss. This hasn’t quite resulted in an improvement in results for the Hammers but the performance levels and attitude of the West Ham players has certainly improved which all came together in their 1-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last time out.
Leicester’s situation is looking increasingly bleak, Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s side find themselves 5 points from safety and were booed off the pitch following a 4-0 loss to Brentford at home last time out. Defensive organisation seems to be a recurring problem for the Foxes, with the midlands side remarkably without a clean sheet in any of their last 22 games across all competitions, a run that stretches back to early October.
⭐ West Ham v Leicester Best Bet
Fresh from the jubilation of overcoming their London rivals and seemingly dumping them out of the title race simultaneously, West Ham should be full of confidence here and can start quickly against a Leicester defence which has been really vulnerable in recent weeks and months.
Leicester shipped 3 goals in the first half in their 4-0 defeat to Brentford last time out. Ruud Van Nistelrooy has been a little naive in his approach to some of these games against mid-table sides, often abandoning the structure and resilience that Leicester tend to display in games against the traditional bigger sides in the league. Like the other promoted sides, Leicester simply lack the quality to compete with some of the established Premier League sides and West Ham can cause them plenty of problems with the likes of Bowen and Kudus, with Evan Ferguson also in line to make his first start for the Hammers.
West Ham have scored a first-half goal in 4 of their 7 games under Graham Potter so far, a record that includes striking in the first half at Villa Park, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates which suggests that West Ham can cause Leicester plenty of problems early on in this game.
🟢 West Ham v Leicester ABC Exclusive Boost
There is a real opportunity for West Ham to carry the momentum generated from their 1-0 win over Arsenal last time out into this game against Leicester, who have been really poor on the road this campaign. Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s side have only won 2 of their 12 away assignments in the Premier League this term, losing 8 of these games and conceding 32 goals in the process.
West Ham had 9 corners to Leicester’s 3 in the initial meeting between the sides, the dominance they should have in possession and in attacking areas should naturally see their corner count rise. West Ham can make the most of these set-piece situations as well, with players like Tomas Soucek a constant aerial threat in the box. West Ham are averaging 5.08 corners per game at home this season compared to Leicester’s 3.58 on the road this campaign. Potter’s side should dominate the game and the corner count as a result.
Leicester have received 62 yellow cards across their 26 Premier League games this season (2.38 per game), only 4 teams have collected more cards than the Foxes in the Premier League this campaign. Leicester were shown 2 yellow cards in the initial meeting between the sides and have received 2+ cards in 4 of their last 5 Premier League games.
👕 West Ham v Leicester Predicted XI
🔍 West Ham v Leicester Players to Watch
🟣 Jarrod Bowen
Bowen’s return from injury has been massive for the Hammers. He’s found the back of the net in recent games against Arsenal and Chelsea and has registered 11 goal contributions across his 22 Premier League appearances (7 goals, 4 assists).
No West Ham has registered more goal contributions than Jarrod Bowen this season which highlights just how important he is to the Hammers. Bowen was really influential in the initial meeting between the sides in which he managed to create 5 chances and have 3 shots on target.
🟣 Tomas Soucek
Soucek has been a dependable player for Graham Potter since his arrival. The 29-year-old has featured in all 7 of Potter’s games in charge of the Hammers so far with Soucek playing 90 minutes in 6 of these games – with the exception coming against Brentford where he was cautioned early on.
Soucek is averaging 0.88 fouls won per 90 in the Premier League this season, opposition sides can struggle to contain his physicality and Potter has utilised this in attacking areas since his arrival. He’ll be up against Boubakary Soumare who is averaging 1.25 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League this season, Soucek was also fouled in the initial meeting between the sides.
📂 West Ham v Leicester Cheat Sheet
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💻 West Ham v Leicester Form and Tactics
Graham Potter’s systems can be tough to discern, the former Brighton and Chelsea manager does like to tinker with a variety of tactical systems and in the first instance has looked to make West Ham more secure at the back. He’s opted for a 5-3-2 shape in the majority of his games so far with Bowen and Kudus spearheading the attack backed by a robust midfield set up which consisted of Soucek, Ward-Prowse and Alvarez in their 1-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates.
Potter likes this system and persisted with it at Brighton with great success, but it’s worth noting that for now he doesn’t quite have the right profiles to get it functioning as fluidly as he would like.
Leicester’s tactical instructions can come across as a bit bizarre, they are far too open and believe that they can take the game to opposition sides, even away from home but this results in the Foxes being picked off. This was evident in their 4-0 defeat to Brentford last time out, Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s side were 3-0 down at half-time and this isn’t the first time in recent weeks they’ve had issues at the back – Leicester are without a clean sheet in their last 22 games.
West Ham’s form hasn’t properly reflected the improvement that Graham Potter has brought the Hammers. They’re far more competitive in games as shown by the fact that only 1 of the 4 games they’ve lost so far under Potter has been by a more than 1 goal scoreline (v Crystal Palace).
The initial meeting between these sides ended in a 3-1 Leicester win which was Rudd Van Nistelrooy’s first Premier League game in charge of the Foxes. In truth, Leicester were really lucky in the game with West Ham generating an xG of 3.10 and having 31 shots on goal.
It’s clear that there is a gap in quality between the sides when looking at these underlying numbers from the initial meeting, something that should be able to be exploited by a more organised West Ham side under Graham Potter.
🏁 West Ham v Leicester Ref Watch
- Referee – Stuart Attwell.
| Average Cards (Y / R) | 3.85 / 0.15 |
| Fouls Given | 20.00 |
| Penalties | 0.15 |
📺 How to Watch West Ham v Leicester in the Premier League
📅 When is West Ham v Leicester? / Thursday, 27th February 2025, 20:00
🏟 Where is West Ham v Leicester? / London Stadium (London)
📺 What TV Channel is West Ham v Leicester on? / TNT Sports 1
🟨 …And who is the referee for West Ham v Leicester? / Stuart Attwell 🏴
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