It promises to be an enthralling encounter at The King Power Stadium on Sunday when West Ham travel to League leaders Leicester.
West Ham are going to be looking for a reaction after the disappointing FA Cup defeat at home to Manchester United in the week, and a few of the players will certainly have a point to prove after some below par individual performances.
Slaven Bilic should make a few changes to his side, especially in a defensive sense, to try and keep Leicester’s counter attacks at bay.
Adrian or Randolph?
There are calls for Darren Randolph to replace Adrian in the starting line up after a couple of shaky matches for the Spaniard. For the moment, these calls are ridiculous. Adrian has had a fantastic season, and is a leader in this side. Randolph is clearly a very capable replacement, but with Top Four still possible we should be playing our strongest side, and that means Adrian needs to play.
Tomkins at RB? Is Collins quick enough to deal with Vardy?
James Collins should be back in the starting XI for the match meaning that Tomkins can play at right back. This gives the defence cover as Tomkins doesn’t always look to bomb forward like Michail Antonio would. It gives a little bit of protection to Collins and means that the two central defenders won’t be isolated against Jamie Vardy, especially as he loves running in between the right back and right central defender. It could be argued that a quicker centre back than Collins should be playing, but Collins hasn’t had a bad game all season, so with Tomkins helping to cover him, Collins is a reliable choice.
The other two defensive positions should be filled by Cresswell and Ogbonna. Aaron Cresswell will have his work cut out with Riyad Mahrez, especially if he has Payet ahead of him who isn’t great at tracking back. This is why we need a third midfielder…
Obiang needs to play
Pedro Obiang was unfortunate not to feature in the week against Manchester United and was probably the one player that could have made a difference on the night. Three in midfield seems logical against Leicester, as Kante is currently winning midfield battles on his own. Throw Danny Drinkwater into the mix and we will definitely need a stronger midfield than on Wednesday night. Kouyate, Noble and Obiang will need to be on form to snuff out counter attacks.
Leicester are a couple of wins from winning the Premier League, so can’t be underestimated here. Three in midfield is crucial if we are to have a chance of stopping them.
But who get’s sacrificed: Lanzini, Payet, Antonio or Carroll?
This is the tough one.
I don’t believe that any of the three midfielders have the capabilities to play up front (Antonio isn’t far away) so false nine isn’t an option here. Carroll’s only competition is Emenike at the moment, so he should be starting this game.
This means that one of Antonio, Payet and Lanzini needs to be sacrificed.
Payet can never be sacrificed. He will be a key man again if we are to win this game.
Antonio, when playing in his favourite position, has been marginally better than Lanzini recently (despite Lanzini being great in recent weeks) and Antonio will help to track back more than the Argentine. If we have to sacrifice one of them, Lanzini should start this match on the bench.
Antonio’s natural width means that he will provide chances for Andy Carroll and get the ball into the box. Something that Enner Valencia didn’t provide on Wednesday. Carroll will need to be on form again if we are to get anything from this game, against Wes Morgan and Robert Huth as well. Carroll will be crucial at Leicester’s set pieces, which is another reason that Collins must start at the back.
A more narrow defensive approach from West Ham can see us win here, if we don’t play into Leicester’s hands like so many teams have, then we have a good chance of getting a result in a tough game.
Do you agree with the changes? Should Lanzini keep his place?
