West Ham United take on Leicester City in the Premier League this evening.
Claude Puel and David Moyes
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks West Ham United will draw 1-1 with Leicester in the Premier League this evening.
The Hammers head into the game having lost 2-0 at Watford last weekend, as goals from Will Hughes and Richarlison condemned new manager David Moyes to a defeat in his first game in charge.
Moyes, 54, was brought in as the surprise choice to replace Slaven Bilic as Hammers boss earlier this month, making his return to management having left Sunderland at the end of last season.
The Scot has a major point to prove having suffered relegation with Sunderland, and West Ham have brought in the former Manchester United boss to help drag them away from the drop zone.
A win against Leicester City tonight would be ideal for Moyes’ first game at the London Stadium, though the Foxes have just appointed a new manager themselves in Claude Puel.
The Frenchman, formerly of Southampton, was brought in as Craig Shakespeare’s replacement last month, and he has opened with a win, a draw and a defeat from his first three games in charge.
Ahead of tonight’s game, pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks the two teams will draw 1-1 at the London Stadium, noting that Leicester were unlucky against Manchester City last weekend.
Lawrenson revealed that he spoke to West Ham fans after the defeat to Watford, with supporters unhappy with the board rather than new manager Moyes, with Lawrenson confident that the Scot will have no problems from his own fans tonight.
“It was interesting to be at Vicarage Road to watch West Ham lose at Watford in David Moyes’ first game in charge,” said Lawrenson. “I spoke to Moyes afterwards and he admitted that the Hammers did not play well. He was right, but they still had better chances than Watford did. It was amazing they did not score at least one of them. It was obvious to me that the West Ham players are very short on confidence. Even a draw against Leicester would be something to build on and I think the most important thing for Moyes in his first home game in charge is that they do not lose.”
“The pace of Foxes striker Jamie Vardy will cause them problems, so I am expecting the Hammers to flood their midfield and make themselves difficult to break down. Yes, they will need to create chances too in front of their own fans but, as we saw on Sunday, I don’t think that will be a problem, and I don’t think Moyes needs to worry about the reaction he will get from the supporters either. Going by their chants and banners during the Watford game – and also from what the fans I spoke to afterwards had to say – they are unhappy with the board, not him.”
“As for Leicester, they were a little bit unlucky in their defeat against Manchester City last week because they should have been playing against 10 men for most of the game – Vincent Kompany should have been sent off after two minutes for a foul on Vardy. That was Claude Puel’s first defeat, in his third game in charge of Leicester, and the Foxes look exactly what they are, which is a side that are comfortable in mid-table,” he added.
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