West Ham vs Leicester - Premier League: Team news, lineups & prediction
West Ham host Leicester on Saturday afternoon in a Premier League meeting between two sides with identical records.
Both clubs have taken 14 points from their first 14 league matches but come into the contest enduring and enjoying contrasting runs of form.
West Ham have lost three of their last four Premier League games, limply falling to defeat at home to Crystal Palace last weekend. Leicester, by contrast, have the fourth-best record in the division since the start of October (13 points from seven matches), climbing out of the relegation zone.
Here's everything you need to know about the intersection of these differing trajectories.
Where are West Ham vs Leicester playing?
- Location: London, England
- Stadium: London Stadium
- Date: Saturday 12 November
- Kick-off Time: 15:00 GMT / 11:00 ET / 08:00 PT
- VAR: Chris Kavanagh
- Referee: Jarred Gillett
West Ham vs Leicester H2H Results (Last Five Games)
West Ham: 3 Wins
Leicester: 1 Win
Draws: 1
Current Form (Last Five Games)
West Ham: WLWLL
Leicester: WWLWW
West Ham team news
Emerson struggled through to second half stoppage time of West Ham's Carabao Cup defeat to second-tier Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night after sustaining a knock in the opening 45 minutes, clouding his availability this weekend.
Maxwel Cornet hasn't featured since the first day of October and is unlikely to return this side of Christmas after suffering a setback in his recovery.
West Ham predicted lineup vs Leicester
West Ham Starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Kehrer, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Scamacca.
Bench: Areola, Coufal, Fornals, Antonio, Lanzini, Downes, Ogbonna, Aguerd, Coventry.
Leicester team news
Leicester may have advanced to the fourth round of the EFL Cup in midweek but lost James Justin, a goalscorer on the night, to a ruptured Achilles tendon for the rest of the campaign. Ricardo Pereira has been struggling with the same injury all season and won't be back until January at the earliest.
Ryan Bertrand is another long-term absentee and Caglar Soyuncu is nursing a hamstring strain.
Leicester predicted lineup vs West Ham
Leicester Starting 11 (4-1-4-1): Ward; Castagne, Amartey, Faes, Thomas; Ndidi; Maddison, Dewsbury-Hall, Tielemans, Barnes; Daka.
Bench: Iversen, Vestergaard, Mendy, Soumare, Albrighton, Perez, Iheanacho, Vardy, Evans.
West Ham vs Leicester score prediction
This is a meeting between two teams that love a potshot - only Manchester United (19 yards) average shots from further out than West Ham (18.5) and Leicester (18.6) - but have dramatically contrasting success rates from range.
West Ham have converted just 5% of their shots from outside the box compared to Leicester's impressive 13%, with the likes of Youri Tielemans and England's James Maddison ensuring the Foxes have plundered a league-high eight long-range goals.
On top of their marksmanship, Kevin De Bruyne's unstoppable free-kick is the only goal Leicester have conceded across their last six matches. West Ham may have home advantage but the Foxes have every chance of opening up a gap between the pair.
Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Leicester