First Yellow Card of the Season for Cresswell, Soucek & Coufal poor- Talking points & analysis from Leicester 2-2 West Ham

With Manchester United having drawn against Southampton and Spurs having lost to Wolves over the weekend, West Ham had a golden opportunity to solidify their own top four credentials against a struggling Leicester side. However a poor performance at the King Power Stadium saw David Moyes’ men squander that chance, and they could perhaps count themselves lucky to emerge with a point here thanks to Michael Dawson’s stoppage time header.

Here are our main talking points from this LCFC v WHUFC clash [Read more…]

Referee announced for Leicester vs West Ham announced- Same as August 2021 clash

The referee for Leicester vs West Ham later this evening will be the same person who took charge of the reverse fixture between these two sides at the London Stadium earlier this season. West Ham won that game 4-1 and Leicester had Ayoze Perez sent off just before the interval [Read more…]

No shots on target for Leicester, Vladimir Coufal impressive on debut & more- Talking Points from LCFC 0-3 West Ham

West Ham produced a near-flawless away performance as they handed Leicester City their first loss of the 2020/21 Premier League season. The Foxes, coming off a fine 5-2 win at the Etihad against Man City last weekend, were aiming to win the opening four games of a top flight season for the first time in their history, but were outclassed by the visitors at the King Power Stadium.

Here are our talking points from the game.

No shot on target for Leicester: Bizarre as it may sound, Leicester, who had put five past Pep Guardiola’s City in Round 3, failed to register even a single shot on target in this game. It’s only the third time the Foxes have failed to do at home in the modern Premier League era.

Brendan Rodgers’ men had nearly 70% of possession and 670 passes to the Hammers’ 291, but could simply not find a way through as the visitors defended resolutely. Harvey Barnes did manage to find the back of the net in second half stoppage time (a very nice team goal btw), but it was reversed by VAR.

For a team that’s been defensively vulnerable, especially on the road, this was a fine, fine performance from West Ham and a well deserved clean sheet for Lukasz Fabianski.

LEIWHU

Vladimir Coufal impressive on debut: The new Czech signing made his debut at right back in place of the injured Ryan Fredericks and put in a very assured performance here. Going up against Harvey Barnes away from home isn’t easy by any stretch of imagination, but Coufal set the tone for the game when he won an early 5th minute free kick against the Leicester winger.

In the 16th minute, he put in a nice tackle to stop Jamie Vardy in his tracks after the latter had turned Angelo Ogbonna inside out, and in the 22nd minute, he went over to the other side to stop a Castagne cross that could’ve easily resulted in a Leicester goal. [Read more…]

Referee for Leicester vs West Ham 2020- Hammers have never won under him, Foxes yet to lose with him in charge!

The referee for West Ham’s Game Week 24 clash against Leicester at the King Power Stadium has been announced, and it’s an official under whom the Hammers are yet to win a Premier League fixture- David Coote. The Foxes, on the other hand, have never lost a game that he’s been in charge of so far, going all the way back to the time they were in the Championship!

Coote was also the referee when these two sides met last month at the London Stadium- West Ham lost 2-1 to what was effectively a B side fielded by Brendan Rodgers, resulting in the club parting ways with manager Manuel Pellegrini.

West Ham record under David Coote (P4- L3, D1)

West Ham 1-2 Leicester (December 2019, Loss)
Sheff Utd 1-1 West Ham (October 2019, Draw)
Wolves 3-0 West Ham (January 2019, Loss)
Burnley 2-0 West Ham (December 2018, Loss) [Read more…]

The return of Fabianski, loss to Leicester reserves, Carlos Sanchez poor, Pellegrini sacked- Talking Points from West Ham vs Leicester

West Ham’s 2019 finished on a disappointing note as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday evening. Brendan Rodgers fielded what was virtually a Foxes B team by making nine changes, but his reserves ran out comfortable winners at the London Stadium. The home side will feel they could have done better defensively for both goals, and apart from that moment of brilliance from Felipe Anderson to set up Pablo Fornals, didn’t trouble Kasper Schmeichel too much.

The result left the Hammers just one point above the drop zone and forced the club to part ways with Manuel Pellegrini after the game, with Wednesday’s fixture against Bournemouth now shaping up to be a massive one. Here are our talking points from this GW20 clash.

The return of Lukasz Fabianski: West Ham’s problems began the moment Fabianski got injured at the Vitality Stadium in September. The club started the season encouragingly, but everything went haywire once the Pole, the reigning Hammer of the Year, was diagnosed with a torn hip muscle. His replacement Roberto didn’t exude confidence under the sticks, and that nervousness seemed to spread to the rest of the team. Roberto was finally replaced by veteran David Martin, who himself picked up a hip injury after keeping clean sheets in the wins over Chelsea and Southampton that bought Pellegrini some time.

Fabianski saved an early penalty from Demarai Gray, but there was precious little he could do to stop the other goals. Nevertheless, the fans will be glad to see the Polish stopper back in goal.

Carlos Sanchez poor: A poor outing for the Colombian who was asked to start as Pellegrini chose to rest veteran Mark Noble. Had a couple of nervy passes in the beginning that led to Leicester counter attacks, and the early penalty that the Foxes earned came from a move that began after his misplaced pass. He didn’t cover himself in glory for Gray’s winner either.

When Sebastien Haller was hooked early in the second half, the crowd wasn’t happy, but they almost cheered in appreciation when Sanchez was taken off. That tells a story in itself- the Colombian has clearly not endeared himself to the fans at the London Stadium. [Read more…]