Upton Park is set to host the first match of its swansong season, as West Ham welcome Leicester City on Saturday.
Both sides are coming off impressive first week victories, and both have brand new managers hoping to extend their teams’ handsome starts.
Although both the Foxes and the Hammers earned splendid victories in their opening fixtures, the strength of these teams’ respective opponents differed significantly. The display that Sunderland managed in their 4-2 loss to Claudio Ranieri’s troupe was bloodless in the extreme, to the point where Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat – who may well be regretting his decision to return for a second season at the Stadium of Light – said he was “scared” by how pitiful his side was. Of course, Leicester can only play the opponents against which they have been pitted, and the way they dispatched Sunderland was emphatic.
West Ham, on the other hand, were facing a fixture that recent history suggested would only end in bitterness. West Ham had not managed a win over Arsenal for eight years, and yet they walked out of the Emirates Stadium shrouded in early-season glory, and with a 2-0 victory. High intensity counter-attacking, muscular potency from set pieces, and stout defending made this a fantastic way to launch this season’s campaign.
Still, a win is a win, no matter who it is over. West Ham, playing at home, enter as favourites here and their Upton Park throng should be in full voice.
Key Battle – Diafra Sakho vs Jamie Vardy
Both teams have players that have had to negotiate some unsavoury hurdles in the lead up to this match. Leicester striker Jamie Vardy was forced to apologise publicly a few days ago after footage of him racially abusing an Asian casino patron emerged earlier in the week. This episode came, rather worryingly, only a few months after a group of Leicester City players were sacked as a result of another appalling, racially-charged incident that occurred during the offseason.
West Ham striker Diafra Sakho, meanwhile, was arrested last week, two days before the victory over Arsenal, on suspicion of domestic assault. Though the arrest itself apparently did little to hamper the Senegalese against the Gunners, the fact that it has now been reported on might change the situation. These two players are crucial attacking linchpins for their teams; both Vardy and Sakho provide vital dynamism in the attacking third, allowing other players the space to flourish as a result of their tireless movement and razor-sharp goal threat. Both performed very well in their opening matches. But, in the wake of their respective public issues, whether or not they can shrug off what are highly serious matters, and play well, will be paramount to their teams’ chances. The battle here, it seems, will be staged in the minds of Sakho and Vardy more than anywhere else.
Team News
West Ham will almost certainly welcome right-back Carl Jenkinson back into the starting lineup. The Englishman was ineligible last week against his parent club, so should be raring to begin the season at the Boleyn Ground. Slaven Bilic will likely decide on a less defensive formation than the one he played against Arsenal, so young Reece Oxford might well miss out, in favour of the regular two-man defensive shield of Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate. Mauro Zarate and Dimitri Payet did more than enough to secure another start, and they could be joined by new starlet Manuel Lanzini. Sakho, in lieu of any other fit West Ham striker, will start up front.
West Ham United Expected XI (4-2-3-1): Adrian (GK); Jenkinson, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell; Noble, Kouyate; Zarate, Payet, Lanzini; Sakho.
Leicester have only one injured player, Matty James, and he will not be fit until well into the new year, so an identical starting lineup to the one that beat Sunderland is expected this weekend. Especially impressive is the availability of Marc Albrighton, whose mother and father-in-law were killed in a terrorist attack in Tunisia in June. Albrighton put in a fine performance against Sunderland in spite of his own personal tragedy, marking his goal by running toward his family and pointing to the sky. His will again be a welcome and courageous appearance if he lines up against West Ham. Leo Ulloa, last season’s top scorer, could be left on the bench again, in favour of a quick, diminutive two-man attack of Vardy and Shinji Okazaki. The West Ham back four is equipped to deal with the six foot Ulloa, perhaps less so the nimble Japanese international. It will also be interesting to see whether Riyad Mahrez can stay atop the scoring charts, after last week’s brace.
Leicester City Expected XI (4-4-2): Schmeichel (GK); De Laet, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Drinkwater, King, Albrighton; Vardy, Okazaki.
Head-to-Head
Leicester City won the last meeting between these teams, a 2-1 victory in April, but have only that single win against three losses in their last four fixtures against the Hammers. The April victory came during the phenomenal spell Leicester went through at the tail end of last season, one that staved off relegation for them. Fun fact: from the start of April until the end of last season, Leicester won more points than any other Premier League team.
Prediction
An end-to-end battle beckons, but a victory for West Ham will eventuate, probably via a 2-1 scoreline.
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