Leicester City v West Ham United
Premier League, King Power Stadium, Sunday 28 May 2023, 4.30pm BST
West Ham United’s 2022/23 Premier League season reaches its conclusion at Leicester City on Sunday.
The Hammers make the journey to King Power Stadium hoping to end the top-flight season on a three-match winning streak. A victory in the East Midlands could see us climb to 13th in the final table.
If we do win, the Foxes will be relegated to the EFL Championship. Leicester kick-off in 18th place, two points behind Everton - who host AFC Bournemouth - but with a superior goal difference.
The ground was opened in 2002 and Leicester celebrated their move from nearby Filbert Street by winning promotion to the Premier League at the end of their first season there.
Of course, Leicester’s most-famous recent campaign came in 2015/16, when they shocked the football world by winning the Premier League title under Italian manager Claudio Ranieri.
Brendan Rodgers then led Leicester to FA Cup and FA Community Shield wins in 2021, but things have gone a bit sour since, with Rodgers departing on 2 April. Former Aston Villa and Norwich City manager Dean Smith is now in charge and needs a win on Sunday, combined with an Everton draw or defeat at home to Bournemouth, to keep Leicester up.
Tickets...
The first 90 per cent of tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 34+ Points. The remaining 10 per cent (328 tickets) were then made available via a ballot process to Season Ticket Holders who had yet to purchase for this fixture. This ballot closed at 12noon on Wednesday 3 May.
Travel...
It takes anything between an hour-and-ten-minutes and an hour-and-a-half to reach Leicester by rail from central London, with regular East Midlands Railway services leaving from both London St Pancras International.
From Leicester station, it is around 45-minutes’ walk to the stadium, or you can take a taxi.
If you opt to drive, leave the northbound M1 at Junction 21 and follow the signs for the City Centre for three miles, turn right onto Upperton Road, then take the fifth exit at Liberty Statue Island onto Western Boulevard.
Parking can be purchased prior to the day of the match for £18 per car on the Club’s Filbert Street car park. To book, please call the City Sales Centre on 0344 815 5000 (Option 1). For more information about home matchday parking, please visit https://tickets.lcfc.com/.
How to Follow...
Sunday's game will be broadcast live by Sky Sports in the UK, and will be shown across the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
You can listen to commentary in the UK on BBC Radio London 94.9FM and worldwide on whufc.com and our official app.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Team News...
West Ham United boss David Moyes will be without Italian forward Gianluca Scamacca, who has undergone surgery to repair a knee issue. However, the Scot has no other fresh injury concerns.
Leicester City manager Dean Smith has a number of issues to contend with. Defenders Jonny Evans (thigh) and Çağlar Söyüncü (thigh), midfielders Wilfred Ndidi (hamstring) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (ankle/foot) and right-back Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) are doubts, while full-back James Justin (lower leg), centre-back Jannik Vestergaard (lower leg), left-back Ryan Bertrand (other) and goalkeeper Danny Ward (hand) are all reportedly sidelined.
Opposition...
Before the 2022/23 Premier League season kicked-off, Leicester City were longer odds than Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa to be relegated.
Nine months on, the Foxes are staring at the prospect of a drop down to the EFL Championship.
It seems staggering that a club which won the unlikeliest of Premier League titles in 2015/16, and lifted the FA Cup and Community Shield as recently as 2021 could be heading to the second tier.
But, we are where we are, and Leicester are one draw or defeat away from losing their place in the division they lit up seven seasons ago, and have impressed for much of their most-recent nine-year stay.
In 22 games since winning at London Stadium in November, Leicester have recorded just three wins and collected 14 points. That run has seen them drop from 13th to 18th going into the final day.
How things have got so bad for Sunday's hosts is for them to work out, but the reality is that, after a title and five straight top-nine finishes, and a run to last season's UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals, Leicester need Everton to fail to win at home to AFC Bournemouth to have any chance of staying up.
While Brighton are preparing for a UEFA Europa League campaign, and Aston Villa will go into the Europa Conference League with a home win over the Seagulls on Sunday.
Only a win over West Ham United and the result at Goodison Park going their way will ensure Leicester are in the Premier League to face them next season.
Previous Meetings...
West Ham United and Leicester City have met 31 times in the Premier League previously, with the Hammers winning 14, the Foxes ten and seven draws.
Leicester won the reverse fixture at London Stadium in November in the final Premier League match before the 2022 FIFA World Cup break. The Foxes won 2-0 through goals from England pair James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, but have collected just 14 points from 22 games played since.
The Irons took four points from the Foxes last season, making it three wins in succession over the Foxes with a thumping 4-1 success in east London in our first home game of the campaign back in August 2021, then grabbing a dramatic 2-2 draw away from home in February 2022 thanks to Craig Dawson's added-time goal.
West Ham also did the Premier League double over Leicester in 2020/21 winning 3-0 at King Power Stadium in September 2020 and 3-2 at London Stadium in April 2021. Jarrod Bowen scored in both meetings, with Pablo Fornals and Michail Antonio also on target at King Power Stadium and Jesse Lingard hitting the net twice on home turf.
In all competitions, West Ham’s biggest-ever league win over Leicester came in the promotion-winning 1922/23 season. The Hammers thrashed the Foxes 6-0 at Filbert Street on their way to the First Division on 15 February 1923, with Billy Moore scoring a hat-trick, fellow England internationals Jimmy Ruffell and Jack Tresadern and Wales international Dick Richards also getting their names on the scoresheet. Leicester’s biggest win over West Ham came in the First Division on 15 September 1928, when the Foxes won 5-0 at Filbert Street.
Match Officials...
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistant Referees: Adrian Holmes and Richard West
Fourth Official: Matt Donohue
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan
Born in Swindon in Wiltshire in July 1982, Simon Hooper has been a member of the Select Group of Premier League referees since 2018.
Prior to his appointment to the Select Group, Hooper was appointed to the National List in 2008.
He was promoted to Select Group 2 in 2016 and took charge of the 2017 League One Play-Off final between Bradford City and Millwall at Wembley.
The 40-year-old has taken charge of eight West Ham United fixtures previously – a 1-0 home win over Coventry City in the Championship in January 2012, a 3-0 Carabao Cup third round win over Bolton Wanderers in September 2017, a 2-0 Premier League defeat at AFC Bournemouth in January 2019, a 5-1 EFL Cup third round win over Hull City last September, the 2-2 Premier League draw with Brighton & Hove Albion at London Stadium in late December 2020, the 3-0 home win over Sheffield United in February 2021, last January's home 2-0 victory over Norwich City, and our 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers in January this year.
