Leicester v West Ham: Goals likely in entertaining contest

Simon Mail
26 October 2018

Claude Puel's side were beaten at Arsenal on Monday night

Join

Twitter

Facebook

View the Betslip

Leicester host West Ham in the Premier League this weekend and Simon Mail thinks goals are on the cards in the televised clash...

"There has been no shortage of entertainment in Leicester's fixtures this season with six of their last seven league matches producing at least three goals."

Leicester v West Ham
Saturday, 17:30
Live on BT Sport 1

Foxes entertaining despite defensive weaknesses

Leicester find themselves in mid-table in the Premier League after mixing four wins with five defeats. Claude Puel's side have played well at times including during the first half at Arsenal on Monday when they opened the scoring. But the Foxes' early dominance failed to lead to victory as the hosts turned the match around to win 3-1.

City have lost their last two matches and a concern for Puel must be their defending with only two clean sheets this season. The Foxes have plenty of quality going forward with summer arrival James Maddison providing the ammunition for the likes of Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho but their defensive weaknesses were exposed over the last month in defeats to Bournemouth and Everton.

Hammers improving after slow start

It was a wretched start to the season for West Ham, under new boss Manuel Pellegrini after losing their first four Premier League matches, but his side are slowly improving. A 3-1 win at Everton got them off the mark before a notable home victory over Manchester United which featured a goal from talisman Marko Arnautovic.

The Irons have lost their last two games although they can consider themselves unfortunate on both occasions. West Ham squandered plenty of chances in their defeat at Brighton and were also harshly beaten 1-0 at home to Tottenham last weekend. Only superb goalkeeping from Hugo Lloris denied West Ham from taking points against Spurs.

Leicester favourites in tricky market

Leicester are worthy favourites but there are some doubts about backing the hosts at 2.186/5. Puel has lost both home matches against West Ham including last season's 2-0 defeat back in May. Leicester are lacking consistency and have thrown in a few poor results which is enough evidence to swerve them at relatively short odds.

West Ham are 3.814/5 to pull off a victory at the King Power Stadium but you just don't know what you are going to get with their team. The unpredictable Hammers have won one of their four away matches and have only beaten Leicester once in their last seven league meetings. It could look a very generous price after the match but there are just too many question marks against Pellegrini's side to trust them.

The draw is trading at 3.45 but it is a result which has proved scarce for the teams this season. Leicester have not even drawn yet in the league while only one of West Ham's games has finished in a stalemate. Overall this market looks easy to ignore with two inconsistent sides equally capable of excelling or flopping.

Goals should be plentiful in open contest

There has been no shortage of entertainment in Leicester's fixtures this season with six of their last seven league matches producing at least three goals. City have only managed four clean sheets in their last 23 games in the competition and conceded 43 goals so West Ham should be confident about breaching their defence. Three of the Hammers' four away fixtures have also seen over 2.5 goals so there is plenty of value in backing this outcome.

As mentioned, Leicester have struggled to keep clean sheets but have had no problem finding the net themselves. Six of their last seven league games have seen both teams so score. Using Betfair's Same Game Multi option, you can combine both teams to score and over 2.5 goals which inflates the odds to 2.32.

Opta Stat

West Ham have lost more points from winning positions than any other Premier League team this season, dropping six so far. The visitors are 9/1 to lead at half-time and not win the match.

Follow Simon's bets on Twitter @watfordtipster

Premier League 2018-19 P/L

Staked: 14pts
Return: 18.1pts
P/L: +4.1pts

Bet £10 On ACCAS or Bet Builders and Get a £2 Free Bet

Bet £10 on Accas, Multiples or Bet Builders, at minimum combined odds of 2.0 (evens) and once the qualifying bet(s) have settled, you'll get a £2 free bet. Free bet valid 48 hours on Accas, Multiples or Bet Builders. T&Cs apply.