View on the Opposition - Leicester City

Leicester Mercury's James Sharpe lifts the lid on Saturday's opponents Leicester City. 

What is the mood around Leicester City at the moment?

JS: "It depends who you speak to really. As a Leicester fan, you accept from early on that it’s not the expectation but the hope that kills you. Looking at the remaining fixture list there is still hope that we can beat the drop but it’s a massive task.

"I think the game against Spurs was an improvement, it was a good performance and they created a number of chances. If they had done that from the start of the season, I think we’d be in a much safer position."

Nigel Pearson’s future has been talked about at several points during the season, do you think he’ll stay beyond the summer?

JS: "I don’t know to be honest. The club have stuck by him on plenty of occasions when other clubs might have changed things around. He’s said himself that other managers have been sacked despite having better records. If Leicester do go down, he’s proven that he can get them promoted back out of the Championship, but we’ll have to wait and see."

Which players have been in good form recently?

JS: "Robert Huth has looked good since he’s come in on loan. Pearson has changed the formation to three at the back, or five, depending how you look at it. He’s brought a lot of Premier League experience and much needed calmness to the defence. Esteban Cambiasso has also been playing well, he sees the game a lot quicker than anyone else and his movement is excellent.

"Against Tottenham, David Nugent and Vardy were upfront which was a gamble because he didn’t use Kramaric or Ulloa, the two record signings but it seemed to work. Having played together in the Championship they know each other’s games and they caused a lot of problems."

West Ham won 2-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, what did you make of that game?

JS: "Paul Koncheskey made an unbelievably bad mistake. The ball was going out of play for a Leicester throw in and he underhit his backpass. Andy Carroll did well to be fair, he’s got a reputation as a big, lumbering forward but it was a very deft finish.

"In the second half they gave Stewart Downing too much space and he buried his shot well. Across the season, Leicester have made too many mistakes that you just can’t afford to make in the Premier League."

What do you think the score will be on Saturday?

JS: "It’s a tough one. Leicester have to win it if they’re going to stay up so I’ll say 2-1 Leicester."

Where do you think Leicester will finish come the end of the season?

JS: "I don’t think we’ll finish bottom of the table, other than that I’m not sure. I hope we can stay up but it will tough."