Premier League preview and odds: Leicester City vs West Ham United

Published on: 29/12/2016

Premier League preview and odds: Leicester City vs West Ham United

December 31, 2016 16:00pm - King Power Stadium

Referee: TBC

Premier League

After suffering their second home defeat of the season last weekend, reigning champions Leicester City will look to bounce back with a win when they welcome 11th-ranked West Ham United to the King Power Stadium on Saturday. The visitors themselves will be aiming for a fourth-straight league win.

Shadow of relegation looming for champions

After losing at home to Everton on Monday, Leicester City are now facing up to the reality of a relegation battle. Their second home defeat of the season has left them in 16th place just three points above the drop zone approaching the halfway point in the season.

The Foxes had only lost one of their previous 23 home matches in the league but have now lost two of the last four. Their alarming slump in form will be a real concern for boss Claudio Ranieri who must be feeling now more than ever that last seasons title triumph was some kind of miracle.

The East Midlands side still have the knockout stages of the Champions League to look forward to but may have to prioritise Premier League survival over their cup ambitions. Overall, they have won just one of their last nine fixtures and have shown little sign of emerging from their slump.

Meanwhile, West Ham are enjoying an upturn in fortunes following their own dismal start to the campaign. The Hammers are now unbeaten in four and have won their last three matches in a row. As a result, they have risen to 11th place in the table, eight points clear of the danger zone.

Slaven Bilic`s men have score in each of their last eight matches and in all but one of their last 15 away games. Away from home, they are unbeaten in three, having drawn at Manchester United (1-1) and Liverpool (2-2) before coasting to a 4-1 win at Swansea City.

Team news

The home side will be without the suspended Jamie Vardy but otherwise will have a fully-fit squad to choose from.

Meanwhile, the visitors will have to make do without the injured group of Manuel Lanzini (rib), Diafra Sakho (hamstring), Reece Oxford (ankle) and Gokhan Tore (quadriceps), while Simone Zaza, James Collins and Sam Byram could also miss out.

Recent form (League):

Leicester City: LDLWL

West Ham United: WWWDL

Betting odds and tips

West Ham`s recent victories have come against the bottom two (Hull City and Swansea City) and the leagues worst travellers (Burnley). Before their victory in Wales, their only previous away win came at fourth-from-bottom Crystal Palace.

Leicester City`s overall home record is still decent and they did trounce Manchester City 4-2 just a couple of weeks ago. So this game should provide a much tougher test for the Hammers. Whatever the result, both teams can be expected to mark the score sheet.

You can back Both Teams to Score at 7/10 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 29/12/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (29/12/2016 15:28:24) but are subject to change.