West Ham United visits Leicester City on Championship Sunday in a match-up of two clubs that took major steps back this season. Leicester looks likely to go down, but with a win and help from AFC Bournemouth, they will be able to emulate the immortal words of Sir Elton John: “I’m Still Standing…looking like a true survivor.”
As for the Irons, they are safely up, but didn’t reach that status until a couple weeks ago. At best, they’ll still finish with 14 points than less season.
Championship Sunday FYIs
West Ham United at Leicester City
Kickoff: Sun May 28, 4:30pm, King Power Stadium
PL Form: West Ham United WLWWW Leicester City DLLDD
WHUFC Starting XI Prediction: go here
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Standing: Leicester 18th, 31 pts West Ham United 14th, 40 pts
Google Result Probability: West Ham United 27% Draw 25% Leicester 48%
So why is Leciester potentially destined for the second tier? Where did it all go wrong for the 2015-16 Premier League champions?
The summer transfer window. They brought it on themselves by becoming the very last club in all of Europe’s big five leagues to sign a new player. Their net spend was +€33.4m, which looks nice at first, but they had been standing still for a couple years already. The Foxes roster had long stagnated, so another summer of relative inactivity was a death knell.
Team News for Both Sides
And now they have to worry about Jonny Evans, who got injured in the midweek loss to Newcastle United. Meanwhile the following quartet are all out injured: Ryan Bertrand, James Justin and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
There is potentially better news though with Wilfried Ndidi. It remains to be seen how severe his hamstring issue may be.
West Ham has no new fitness concerns, as Gianlucca Scamacca remains the only injury absentee.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.