The second week of 2021/22 Premier League football ends on Monday night when Leicester City travel to east London to face West Ham United.
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The two teams both made a perfect start to the new campaign, with the Hammers winning 4-2 against Newcastle United in an electricity deal at St James’ Park, and the Foxes heading for a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
MA9? pic.twitter.com/CBflxbtnol
– West Ham United (@WestHam) August 18, 2021
There was little to separate the two clubs last year. The Foxes finished fifth in the league table, just one place and one point above Hammers. It will be a bit to separate them again on Monday, but what shape do the two sides have on the way into the last match in gameweek two?
Here is a 90 minute preview of the great game.
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Matt O’Connor-Simpson
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21 August 2021
When is kick off? Monday 23 AugustWhat time is kick off? 20:00 (BST)Where is it played? London StadiumTV channel / livestream? Sky Sports Main Event (UK) fubo -TV (USA)Judge? Michael Oliver
Good vibes only / Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
There is very little for David Moyes to worry about when he welcomes Leicester to East London in terms of injuries, as the shots have almost a full pool to choose from. The competition for the gloves is fierce, with Alphonse Areola running a start ahead of Lukasz Fabianski.
It is unlikely that Moyes will make many changes to the team that beats Newcastle at all, which means that the same group can prove themselves in front of the West Ham faithful. Michail Antonio will aim to break Paulo Di Canio’s record of 47 Premier League goals, which he equalized against the Magpies.
The forward can be West Ham’s highest scorer so far in the English top flight.
Vardy wants to make it two in two / Visionhaus / Getty Images
The good news for Leicester is that full-back Timothy Castagne is finally back and available for Brendan Rodgers to choose from. The Belgian star suffered a nasty facial injury at Euro 2020, and that question has kept him out of the game ever since.
He is back and ready to hit the back line on Monday, while Jannik Vestergaard can get his first start for the club after switching from Premier League rivals Southampton. James Maddison is also expected to be in the starting lineup.
Last weekend’s match winner Jamie Vardy should lead the line, despite competition from Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka.
West Ham: Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Ris, Soucek; Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma; Antonio
Leicester: Flattery; Pereira, Vestergaard, Soyuncu, Castagne; Ndidi, Tielemans; Perez, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
Bowen scored in the recent victory over Leicester / Justin Setterfield / Getty Images
The last three seasons have given interesting reading in the head-to-head department. In 2018/19, no team could get one over their opponents, a draw in both meetings 1-1 and 2-2. Next year was Fox Year, with Leicester claiming 2-1 and 4-1 victories over the Hammers.
But the previous campaign forced David Moyes to hand over Rodgers on two occasions, with a 3-0 home shock in the first meeting and then survive a late comeback to secure a crucial 3-2 victory in their European qualifying race.
It’s balanced on a knife edge, then.
It could be Leicester’s Night / Matthew Lewis / Getty Images
Both Hammers and Foxes will be eager to go after their victories on the opening day, but only one of them can continue their 100% start on the new campaign. West Ham fans will want to give their side the edge, but Leicester boast so much quality over the pitch.
This one can really go both ways, but we want Rodger’s men to almost sneak it in an entertaining fight. No matter what happens, it will not be a walk in the park for either European hopefuls.
Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Leicester
