‘Have to get better’ – Mark Lawrenson predicts Leicester vs West Ham result
Mark Lawrenson believes West Ham hold one key advantage over Leicester City ahead of their Premier League clash on Sunday, he told BBC Sport.
The Hammers travel up to the King Power Stadium off the back of a big 1-0 win over Watford in midweek, looking to maintain their challenge for a top four place in the table.
Leicester have struggled badly this season, winning just two of their last eight games, and have conceded more goals from set-pieces than anyone else.
Lawrenson believes that’s a big hole for West Ham to attack, but ultimately thinks Moyes’ side will fall slightly short of taking all three points – backing a 1-1 draw on the day.
“Leicester are having a poor season, especially at the back, but for them that means they are 11th or 12th at the moment rather than fourth or fifth.
“There are mitigating circumstances for Brendan Rodgers’ side, who have had some long-term injury problems to contend with, but they have to get better at defending set-pieces, starting on Sunday, because West Ham are very strong in those situations.”
Momentum
The Hammers have performed exceptionally well this season and have managed to carry their momentum from last season over to this.
Moyes has managed to get his team to perform to their absolute maximum, and while the club have had their bad moments this season they’ve still managed to stay in and around the hunt.
There is a big chance for West Ham to earn three points here against a very good team to continue their march towards the Champions League, and they should be looking to exploit them.
They have the set-piece ability to really punish Leicester, and three points would be absolutely massive for West Ham but a draw wouldn’t be the worst result in the world either.
Avoid defeat and it can be deemed a good result for the team and help to keep momentum going for yet another week.
In other West Ham news, Sky Sports pundit thinks major January transfer has ‘done West Ham a favour’