Leicester City will have the chance to move 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League table when they welcome top-four chasing West Ham United to the King Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
With second-placed Tottenham Hotspur not in action until Monday night, victory for the Foxes would see them take another big step towards the title. West Ham, however, will be keen to overcome what has been a disappointing couple of weeks.
Leicester
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Leicester are almost, almost there. Five games to play in England's top flight and the Foxes hold a seven-point lead over second-placed Spurs following their 2-0 victory at relegation-threatened Sunderland last weekend.
Indeed, the success at the Stadium of Light was Leicester's fifth straight league win and the clean sheet meant that they have kept five consecutive shutouts in the Premier League for the first time in their history.
It was Jamie Vardy that netted a brace against Sunderland to take his Premier League tally to 21, but Leicester's charge towards the title, certainly in recent weeks, has been built on an excellent defence. Wes Morgan and Robert Huth have both been exceptional in central defence, while N'Golo Kante continues to earn rave reviews for his all-action style in the middle of the park.
Incredibly, Leicester have only trailed for 47 minutes in their last 22 Premier League games since the start of November, which is a further indication of the fairytale that has developed at the King Power Stadium. There might well be a wobble in the final weeks, but they can afford that luxury due to their seven-point lead over Spurs and 13-point lead over third-placed Arsenal.
After this one, Leicester will welcome Swansea City next weekend, before travelling to Manchester United on May 1. They then welcome Everton, before ending their season away to Chelsea. It is a very tough finish for Claudio Ranieri's side, but wins in their next two matches would surely be enough to pick up the unlikeliest of league titles.
Ten wins have arrived from their 16 league matches at the King Power Stadium, while they have been beaten just once. They also have the best away record this season - collecting an incredible 37 points from their 17 on the road, which is seven more than Spurs and eight more than Arsenal.
Champions League football has now been mathematically secured, meanwhile, which is some achievement with 33 games on the board. The Foxes will never get a better chance to win the title, however, and this weekend's clash is surely their biggest game of the season to date.
Recent form: DWWWWW
West Ham
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West Ham just need to be a touch careful that what has been a wonderful campaign to date does not end in a whimper. A fine season has left them in Champions League contention at the business end, but they were disappointingly knocked out by Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Wednesday night.
The Hammers would have fancied their chances of going all the way in the FA Cup this season, but an impressive Man United recorded a 2-1 victory at Upton Park to set up a semi-final clash with Everton. West Ham are also currently on three-game winless run in the Premier League, but all three of those have been draws.
Indeed, they held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on March 19, before drawing 2-2 at home to Crystal Palace at the start of April. Last weekend, they came from two goals behind to draw 3-3 with Arsenal and while it is far from a disastrous run of form, they have fallen five points off fourth-placed Manchester City.
Slaven Bilic's side remain just one point off fifth-placed Man United, but Southampton, who sit seventh, are just two points behind the Hammers. A couple of poor results over the next couple of weeks could well see West Ham drop as low as ninth and that would represent a poor end to the 2015-16 campaign.
That said, West Ham have not been beaten in the league since losing 1-0 at Southampton on February 6 and they have only lost four of their 16 away league matches this season. It has been a story of too many draws at Upton Park, but they have the joint-fourth best away record as we approach the final weeks.
After this one, West Ham will welcome Watford on Wednesday, before travelling to West Bromwich Albion next weekend. They will then host Swansea City and Man United, before ending their campaign away to Stoke City. A top-four place from their current position seems a big ask, but a top-six finish would lead them nicely into an exciting new period.
Recent form: WWWDDD
Recent form (all competitions): WDDDDL
Team News
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Once again, Leicester boss Ranieri has no fresh injury concerns and the Italian is expected to keep faith with his first-choice XI.
That will mean another spot in the final third for Shinji Okazaki, while Marc Albrighton and Riyad Mahrez will start on the wings either side of Kante and Danny Drinkwater in the middle of the park.
As for West Ham, Bilic has revealed that central defender Winston Reid "should be okay" to return to the team after missing the FA Cup defeat to Man United with "tight muscles".
Reid's return could see James Tomkins switch to right-back and Michail Antonio move into a wide midfield position ahead of Enner Valencia, who struggled to make his mark against Man United.
Andy Carroll, who hit a hat-trick in his last league games against Arsenal, should keep his spot as the central striker, while Adrian will replace Darren Randolph between the sticks.
Leicester possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Drinkwater, Kante, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy
West Ham possible starting lineup:
Adrian; Tomkins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Noble, Kouyate; Payet, Lanzini, Antonio; Carroll
Head To Head
Overall, these two teams have met on 125 occasions in all competitions. West Ham have recorded 51 victories, Leicester 45, while the final 29 matches have finished all square.
Leicester are currently on a three-game winning run against the Hammers, however, having beaten them in the corresponding league match last season (2-1), in addition to winning 2-1 at Upton Park back in August.
Leicester also knocked West Ham out of the League Cup in September with a 2-1 victory at the King Power Stadium. In fact, West Ham have not won away at Leicester since April 2012 in the Championship.
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We say: Leicester 1-1 West Ham
Due to Leicester's incredible form over the last couple of months, they can afford to drop points here and there. West Ham at home is a tough game for any team and we are backing the pair play out a 1-1 draw, which would not be the worst result for either side.
Matt Law
