West Ham will look to insert themselves back into the top four conversations with a second successive league win as they head to Leicester to take on the Foxes at the King Power Stadium.
David Moyes and the West Ham staff raised some eyebrows with their team selection in their 1-0 victory over Watford. Mere hours after footage of Kurt Zouma abusing animals circulated online, the hierarchy in East London still saw fit to hand the Frenchman a start in a Premier League fixture. It’ll be interesting to see if he follows suit here.
Kurt Zouma Condemned by West Ham United for Committing Animal Cruelty <– Disgusting, horrifying video of him beating up his own cat, while his brother films and laughs.
Throw the book at both of these bastards https://t.co/x5uErwrTtM— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) February 8, 2022
The Hammers have had great recent form against the Foxes. They have won their last three league fixtures against Leicester, with an aggregate score of 10-3.
In fact, the Hammers haven’t enjoyed this kind of dominance over Leicester since the mid-nineties. In the years between 1994 and 1997, West Ham won four consecutive league fixtures against Leicester.
If they can replicate that streak with a fourth consecutive victory over the Foxes here, they must be seriously considered as a top 4 contender again.
Leicester vs West Ham FYIs
When is it? Sunday, February 13, 4.30 PM
Where is it? King Power Stadium, Leicester
Who’s in form? Leicester (WWLDL) West Ham (WLLWW)
What are the odds? Leicester (+190) West Ham (+145) Draw (+250)
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TEAM NEWS
The team news is pretty light on for the Hammers with just a couple of definite outs to report on.
The first is versatile Congolese left-sided player Arthur Masuaku. He is currently out with a knee injury. West Ham reported back on the seventh of this month that he will need to see a specialist to help him in his recovery from the injury.
The club lists him as ‘being assessed right now, but I would be very surprised if he makes the squad for the trip to Leicester.
The other is Angelo Ogbonna. He is currently out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury that required a knee reconstruction. Given the current schedule because of the World Cup being played in Qatar, I don’t see him playing this calendar year.
And at the age of nearly 34, the former Juventus man may have played his last game in East London too.
STARTING XI PREDICTION
The Hammers will need to go hammer and tongs (see what I did there?) to secure three points here in order to bring themselves back into the top four discussions. That said, I expect them to go full strength here.
That being said, ‘Pole in the goal’ Lukasz Fabianski will start here. He would have had his confidence boosted by keeping a clean sheet against Watford. I expect an excellent performance from him here.
Vladimir Coufal will start on the right of defense in his favored full-back position.
Aaron Cresswell will start at left-back. Craig Dawson starts in the center of defense, with the disgraced Kurt Zouma alongside him.
David Moyes and the West Ham hierarchy have already shown their hand with the Frenchman.
The club publicly called him out for beating his own pet cat. Additionally, they have donated two weeks worth of his wages to animal rescue charity efforts.
No matter what he does off the pitch, he starts. I think it is poor form, a bad PR move, but that’s probably why I don’t manage a Premier League club, I guess.
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek start as a defensive midfield pivot. The duo is everything that is good about this team. They are a delight to watch and compliment each other perfectly. Pablo Fornals starts just ahead of those two, with a little more offensive freedom.
The attack has a familiar look, with Michail Antonio the only viable option as a striker. The matchwinner from the Hammer’s last two fixtures, Jarrod Bowen, starts on the right. Algerian superstar Said Benrahma starting on the left of the attack.
PREDICTION
West Ham desperately needs this victory to stay relevant to the top 4 this season. Unfortunately for David Moyes’ men, I just don’t see that happening. I am picking a Leicester victory 3-1.
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.