Leicester City and West Ham clash as race for European spots heats up
Six years ago, West Ham played host to Leicester City in a clash of two teams who would go on to enjoy their best seasons in the Premier League since the turn of the millennium.
The Foxes would prevail 2-1 that day – taking them to second on the ladder and sending an early warning to the league’s title aspirants.
Whilst West Ham would end up qualify for Europe that season, Leicester would, of course, go on to miraculously win the league – but it all started with that fabulous away win at Upton Park.
Back in the present, on the eve of the very same fixture, both clubs find themselves in remarkably similar territory to their counterparts from the 2015-16 season.
Whilst neither the Foxes nor the Irons are serious challengers for the title this time around, both are firmly in contention for the Champions League, occupying third and fourth in the table.
This fixture, however, unlike in 2015, comes at the end of the season – but the implications are just as high; the victor will open a significant gap on the Europe-chasing pack, and take a significant leap towards continental football next year.
Leicester City, on paper, holds the advantage against injury-ravaged Hammers.
Both teams come into this European 6-pointer in a similar vein of form, with only 2 wins in the last five league games. Both teams will take to the field without the services of a few key players.
Leicester City are missing the services of Harvey Barnes, breakout star James Justin, and Turkish international Caglar Soyuncu and Cengiz Under.
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West Ham, however, have more irreplaceable members of their squad out, with Declan Rice out for a month, forward Michail Antonio suffering a hamstring strain last week, and Angelo Ogbonna unlikely to take the field either.
This means the core elements of their impressive spine are all out – leaving them vulnerable to the flying Foxes on the counterattack.
The Hammers do have Jesse Lingard still available, however, despite a hamstring scare at the end of the Wolves match. The Mancunian dynamo has been electric since arriving in East London on loan and finds himself the focal point of David Moyes’ attack.
He’ll relish the opportunity to impress against Leicester City, a club that has registered their interest in his services this summer.
This fixture will see another intriguing sub-plot play out, as the league’s second-best team away from home (Leicester City) visits the team with the second-best home record.
West Ham have performed admirably at the London Stadium, going a long way to meeting Moyes’ goal of turning the venue into a “fortress”.
Having said that, the Foxes come in with an even more impressive away record, having lost only one game on the road this season.
With away form and injury luck on their side, they may just hold an advantage over their faltering London opposition.
If history is to repeat itself, then much like that catalytic fixture in 2015, we can expect a closely fought match to be won by the Foxes.
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One thing’s for sure though – regardless of the outcome, fans and neutrals alike are in for an exciting top of the table clash.