West Ham United v Leicester City
Having safely negotiated their respective lower-league opponents in the FA Cup last weekend, it is a return to Premiership action for West Ham and Leicester at Upton Park this weekend. The Foxes will be looking to exploit their recent about-turn in fortunes against the Hammers - before last season the Londoners had won 12 out of the last 14 matches against the Midlands club, but 2000-01 saw Leicester do the double over Harry Redknapp's side.
Of course 2001-02 sees a new man at the West Ham helm, but little seems to have changed under Glenn Roeder, with the side still looking for all the world like mid-table also-rans. The way Roeder began his Hammers tenure it seemed unlikely he would be in the job for long, but his team have responded well to criticism.
Nonetheless their record in attack leaves a lot to be desired. Only once in the past nine Premiership outings have the Hammers scored more than a single goal and their 43% shooting accuracy this season is below the average for the division. It seems a little bizarre, therefore, that Roeder and the Hammers board should sanction Paolo di Canio's possible move to Old Trafford.
Leicester will of course be pleased that the mercurial Italian is unlikely to be on show this weekend. Dave Bassett was under no illusions when he took over from Peter Taylor as to how tough the job of keeping the Foxes up would be, but the team's ability to pick up wins over good sides such as Aston Villa and Sunderland while dropping points to Ipswich and Southampton must perplex even him.
Having conceded a Premiership-high 36 goals already this season, Leicester should look to a lack of quality distribution for answers. With 37% of their attempted passes in the opposition half going astray - only Bolton have an inferior record - they have consistently struggled to create chances for their front men.
Unfortunately the more chances the side can create the better since Ade Akinbiyi has spurned 94% of those that have come his way. Brian Deane has helped improve the fortunes of the club however - the November signing from Middlesbrough has hit 46% of his shots accurately to show he can still perform at the highest level.
But every tie is a tough one for Leicester these days - even their 2-1 win at home to Mansfield Town last time out was a hard-fought, if ultimately-deserved one. West Ham will be hoping, and expecting, to extend their unbeaten home run to five matches - surreysports.co.uk are offering 10/1 on a 3-1 win for the Hammers.
Chris Green.
Match referee: D. Gallagher
Banbury Dermot, as he may possibly be known to his friends, marshals his 10th Premiership match of the campaign at the Boleyn Ground this weekend. It will be his second visit to the ground this term - his first was a happy one as neither the side nor Chelsea committed an offence worthy of a card of either colour. Leicester are yet to play in a Gallagher-officiated match this term.
Referee's Name FoulsPenaltiesYellow CardsRed CardsAve
Disc pointsD. Gallagher 243 0 21 0 34.00
PLAYER HEAD-TO-HEAD
click below for in-depth comparisonCole v Savage
TEAM NEWS
England Under-21 midfielder Michael Carrick is again doubtful for the Hammers after missing the FA Cup win at Macclesfield with ankle ligament damage. John Moncur could fill in again in his absence, while Paolo di Canio is fit again and could feature despite lingering speculation over a move to Manchester United. New Slovakian signing Vladimir Labant is short of match fitness, and will not play.
Danish international defender Jacob Laursen will make his Foxes debut after sealing his switch from FC Copenhagen. The former Derby man comes into a back four missing skipper Matt Elliott through suspension as well as long-term injury absentees Gerry Taggart and Gary Rowett. Muzzy Izzet is banned after his recent sending-off against Bolton, but Scottish international Callum Davidson has recovered from a hamstring injury.
MATCH BETTING
click on links below to place a wager
Match Result
West Ham 4/7
Draw 12/5
Leicester 9/2
Correct Score
West Ham 1-0 6/1
West Ham 2-0 11/2
West Ham 2-1 7/1
West Ham 3-0 10/1
West Ham 3-1 10/1
West Ham 3-2 28/1
West Ham 4-0 25/1
West Ham 4-1 22/1
West Ham 4-2 50/1
West Ham 5-0 50/1
West Ham 5-1 50/1
West Ham 6-0 100/1
West Ham 6-1 100/1
Draw 0-0 8/1
Draw 1-1 6/1
Draw 2-2 16/1
Draw 3-3 50/1
Leicester 1-0 10/1
Leicester 2-0 25/1
Leicester 2-1 18/1
Leicester 3-0 66/1
Leicester 3-1 50/1
Leicester 3-2 50/1
Leicester 4-0 100/1
Leicester 4-1 100/1
Leicester 4-2 100/1
Double Result
West Ham/West Ham 11/8
West Ham/Draw 16/1
West Ham/Leicester 45/1
Draw/West Ham 7/2
Draw/Draw 4/1
Draw/Leicester 10/1
Leicester/West Ham 28/1
Leicester/Draw 16/1
Leicester/Leicester 10/1
First Goalscorer
F Kanoute 4/1
J Defoe 4/1
P Di Canio 9/2
P Kitson 9/2
D Hutchison 8/1
T Sinclair 10/1
J Cole 12/1
M Carrick 16/1
Courtois 18/1
J Moncur 25/1
T Repka 33/1
S Minto 33/1
S Schmemel 33/1
R Soma 40/1
C Dailly 50/1
H Foxe 50/1
N Winterburn 50/1
S Potts 66/1
No Goalscorer 8/1
J Scowcroft 15/2
B Deane 8/1
A Akinbiyi 9/1
D Wise 20/1
R Savage 20/1
A Rogers 20/1
M Piper 25/1
A Impey 33/1
M Jones 33/1
J Stewart 33/1
S Oakes 33/1
C Davidson 40/1
M Heath 40/1
L Marshall 50/1
F Sinclair 66/1
For all these bets + much more go now to surreySPORTS.co.uk
By Road:
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