Two Premier League teams who experienced contrasting results in the EFL Cup in midweek will face off at the London Stadium when West Ham United play host to Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Hammers were beaten by Championship opposition on home soil a day after the Foxes cruised to a comfortable win against their fourth-tier counterparts.
Match preview
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West Ham's form has dipped in recent weeks, with back-to-back Premier League defeats against Manchester United and Crystal Palace followed by a disappointing EFL Cup third-round exit on penalties against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday.
Pablo Fornals and Michail Antonio turned the game on its head after Jack Vale had put Blackburn into an early lead, but star striker Ben Brereton Diaz – who has been linked with a move to the Hammers – equalised two minutes from time to force the tie to penalties.
Angelo Ogbonna missed the decisive penalty after 19 successful spot kicks to send the Championship side through to the fourth round, leaving West Ham boss David Moyes with plenty to ponder.
Indeed, Moyes is beginning to come under some pressure in East London, but the West Ham hierarchy insist that they are fully behind the Scotsman, who now turns his focus back to the Premier League with one final fixture on Saturday before the World Cup break.
After winning only one of their last five Premier League games, West Ham have slipped to 15th in the table, level on points with their upcoming opponents Leicester City in 14th place.
The Hammers have fared better on home soil so far this season and had won six successive matches at the London Stadium before their 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace last weekend. Moyes and co have also won three of their last four meetings with the Foxes, which bodes well heading into Saturday's contest.
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Leicester managed to avoid an EFL Cup exit against League Two outfit Newport County, as a routine 3-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night helped them secure a safe passage into the fourth round.
James Justin netted a first-half opener before Jamie Vardy scored twice in the final 20 minutes, but the game was marred by the Achilles injury sustained to Justin just after the hour mark, with the right-back forced off on a stretcher.
Brendan Rodgers had been under pressure in recent weeks, following Leicester's poor start to the campaign, but the Northern Irishman has guided his Foxes outfit to four victories in their last five matches across all competitions, with their only defeat during this run at the hands of Premier League champions Manchester City.
Indeed, a stunning Kevin De Bruyne free kick is the only goal that Leicester have conceded in their last five outings, with the Foxes making vast improvements in defence having previously conceded 24 goals in nine top-flight games, letting in two or more goals on seven of those occasions.
Leicester will be looking to finish on a high before the six-week World Cup break begins, but success on Saturday could prove challenging as they have won only two of their last 10 meetings against West Ham and have lost their last two visits to the London Stadium, conceding seven goals in the process.
Nevertheless, the Foxes – who secured a 2-0 win away at Everton last weekend courtesy of a superb Youri Tielemans volley and a sweet strike from Harvey Barnes – could climb to as high as 11th place with a victory over the Hammers.
Team News
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West Ham winger Maxwel Cornet remains out with a calf injury, while Emerson Palmieri came off as a precaution with a knock in the midweek defeat to Blackburn and the left-back will be assessed ahead of kickoff on Saturday.
Moyes is expected to recall a number of his star players, with Thilo Kehrer, Craig Dawson, Kurt Zouma and Aaron Cresswell set to make up the back four, with Lukasz Fabianski replacing Alphonse Areola between the sticks.
Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Lucas Paqueta, Tomas Soucek and Gianlucca Scamacca were all left out of the starting lineup in midweek, but they are expected to return against Leicester.
As for the Foxes, Justin joins fellow defenders Ricardo Pereira (Achilles), Caglar Soyuncu (hamstring) and Ryan Bertrand (knee) on the sidelines, with the former expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing a scan on Wednesday.
Timothy Castagne was rested in midweek and is set to replace Justin in the first XI, joining Jonny Evans, Wout Faes and Luke Thomas in the back four, while goalkeeper Danny Ward is expected to return at the expense of Daniel Iversen.
James Maddison – who has been called up to the England squad for the World Cup – and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were also rested against Newport, while Tielemans came off the bench in the second half, and the midfield trio will likely start together on Saturday, while striker Patson Daka is hoping to force his way back into the first XI ahead of Vardy.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Kehrer, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Scamacca
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Ward; Castagne, Evans, Faes, Thomas; Ndidi; Maddison, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes; Daka
We say: West Ham United 2-2 Leicester City
Each of the last seven meetings between these two sides have seen at least three goals scored, so plenty of goalmouth action is to be expected on Saturday.
While the momentum is with Leicester heading to the London Stadium, we can see West Ham securing at least a point from an entertaining contest in the capital.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
