Leicester City travel to London Stadium on Saturday and West Ham United will be hoping to down the Foxes to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
The Hammers are without a win in four matches and will be hoping to end the streak with a victory over Craig Shakespeare’s in-form outfit.
Leicester’s form has certainly picked up since the unpopular sacking of Italian boss Claudio Ranieri, who led the side to an unlikely title last campaign.
And at London Stadium on Saturday, these three key battles could prove pivotal when the sides meet…
With Mark Noble out of the side injured this weekend, Winston Reid will fill in as skipper and the New Zealand international will lead his team out alongside fellow captain Wes Morgan.
The stats above show what great form Reid has been in for the Hammers this term; the centre-back is leading the way in terms of everything other than blocks per game against the influential Leicester captain.
Only two other top flight players have cleared the ball more times per match than Reid, and the commanding 28-year-old will be hugely important to Slaven Bilic’s side on Saturday.
With Jamie Vardy constantly on the shoulder of the last defender, it may be up to Reid to prevent the pacey striker causing too many problems at London Stadium on Saturday.
Next, we look at the Algerian pair of wing wizards, Sofiane Feghouli and Riyad Mahrez.
The latter, winner of the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award last season, has not quite lived up to his incredible campaign of 2015/16 this year, however few City players have.
He remains a threat, though, and if the stats are anything to go by, the Hammers should keep a close eye on him on Saturday.
Meanwhile, his international teammate Feghouli has been in good form in 2017, starting the majority of West Ham’s matches and he will hope to keep his place on Saturday and look to cause Leicester left-back Christian Fuchs plenty of bother.
That man Vardy is a talisman for Leicester, as is Andy Carroll for West Ham United. The Geordie is back in the side after an injury absence, and he is vital to the Hammers’ style of play.
The same can be said for Vardy and City, who like to play counter-attacking football with the forward always looking to take advantage of that.
Despite Carroll’s injury woes this season, the big man has scored almost as many as Vardy. He wins plenty of aerials per match and even helps out in defence, clearing the ball on average 2.2 times per match.
It will be interesting to see who comes out on top at London Stadium in a vital fixture for both outfits.