West Ham United vs Leicester City
Leicester City are playing with the Premier League big boys this season as they’ve soared to heights they haven’t reached since their remarkable title-winning season three years ago.
But the Foxes are finding out how tough it is to fight among giants like Liverpool and Manchester City atop the table. They’ve already dropped some crucial points in recent weeks and can’t afford to do so again as they face off against West Ham United.
After some initial promise, the Hammers have quite a disappointing season thus far as they find themselves down in the bottom half of the table.
As a disclaimer, both teams have yet to play their Boxing Day games at the time of this writing. But the Premier League 2019 odds are already out, and they favour the Foxes to pick up an away win. However, don’t discount the Hammers from dealing high-flying Leicester another setback.
Talking Points
Hammers have key piece back
West Ham’s Premier League 2019 results in recent weeks have been quite rough. Prior to their win at Southampton, they had won just once in their previous 10 Premier League matches (seven losses, two draws). That other win surprisingly came at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
Sebastien Haller got the winning goal for West Ham in their 1-0 victory against Southampton. It was the Frenchman’s first goal for the Hammers since October as he went eight matches without finding the net.
That goal should provide a nice boost to Haller’s confidence, which had to be quite low. Having Haller back among the goals is promising news for the Hammers, who desperately need more attacking production. They’ve scored just 19 goals thus far this season, tied for the fourth-fewest in the league.
But perhaps more importantly, they are set to get goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski back following a long injury absence. The Hammers have missed the Polish shot-stopper dearly as evidenced by the 28 goals they’ve already conceded.
Felipe Anderson is also set to be fit for selection after missing the Southampton match due to illness, while right-back Ryan Fredericks will be eligible to return after serving his one-match ban against Crystal Palace.
Foxes need to fix current skid
Leicester City have gone through their rockiest part of the season to date. Prior to their top-of-the-table date with Liverpool, they drew at home to second-from-bottom Norwich and lost 3-1 to third-placed Manchester City. They also squandered a 2-0 lead away to Everton in the Carabao Cup but still went through on penalties.
While there’s no shame in losing away to the defending champions City, their surprising result against Norwich underscores how difficult it will be to remain in the top two for the entire season.
They can’t afford to keep dropping points against inferior teams they should be beating. That’s why it’s imperative for them to pick up all three points against a less than stellar West Ham side.
Premier League top scorer Jamie Vardy, who has 17 goals this term, has been in fabulous form. Vardy had gone two games without a goal after going on a tremendous eight-match scoring run, but he finally snapped that mini drought against City.
With West Ham more than willing to play on the front foot, particularly at home, Vardy should get his chances to run in behind the Hammers’ defence and get good opportunities on goal.
History
The historical head-to-head between West Ham and Leicester City has been quite close. Since 1994, West Ham hold the edge with 13 wins to eight, while there have been eight draws.
The two sides have drawn three of their last four encounters, with West Ham claiming the lone win during that span.
They played out an entertaining 2-2 draw the last time they squared off in London. The Hammers looked on course for a home win, but Harvey Barnes popped up with a stoppage-time equaliser as the Foxes picked up a point.
Betting Tip
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West Ham United vs Leicester City | West Ham United Asian Handicap +0.75 @ 1.96 |
| December 29, 01:30 (GMT+8) |
SBOBET odds have Leicester favoured at 1.75 on the 1X2 market to score a much-needed away victory, while West Ham are priced at 4.30 to claim the home win. A draw is 3.70.
Given Leicester’s recent stumbles, an away win is clearly not a sure thing. That’s why I’m going for the Asian Handicap and backing West Ham.
The Foxes will be just a couple of days removed from another tough match against leaders Liverpool, which should take something out of them. Meanwhile, West Ham have a less taxing match against Crystal Palace and will be a bit fresher after not playing last weekend.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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