WITH their place in the Premier League hanging by a thread, Leicester City know that they must claim maximum points when they welcome West Ham United to the King Power on Sunday.
Seven years after shocking the world by winning the league title, the Foxes now find themselves on the verge of falling back into the second tier of English football.
While Leicester battled for a point with a resolute display at Newcastle on Monday, Dean Smith's side are not in control of their own destiny going into the final day of the season.
The King Power club will be consigned to a place in the bottom three if Everton beat Bournemouth, or if the Foxes fail to overcome West Ham.
Home wins over Manchester United and Leeds either side of loss at Brentford has seen the Hammers drag themselves away from the scrap for survival with a couple of games to spare.
With safety assured, David Moyes' men come into this game with nothing other than pride to play for, and they may already have one eye on the Europa Conference League final with Fiorentina.
Outright Betting
Only a win will do for Leicester City and they are 19/20 (PaddyPower) favourites to fulfil their end of the bargain on Sunday afternoon.
West Ham United go into their final Premier League fixture of the season as 13/5 (Bet 365) outsiders while a share of the King Power spoils has been priced up at 3/1 (UniBet).
Betting Angles
With Leicester undoubtedly being in greater need of the points here they are tempting to back at the above-mentioned price, however I'm happy to instead side with the hosts to score Over 1.5 Team Goals at 5/6 (Betfred).
For all of the Foxes shortcomings this season they have had plenty of success in terms of their attacking output, and that is evidenced by the fact that they are the tied tenth highest-scorers in the Premier League this season
It's also worth pointing out that Leicester have only failed to score twice in five of their seven outings under Dean Smith's watch, delivering multiple strikes in two of their three home games.
What's more, the Foxes may profit from David Moyes' men having bigger fish to fry, as the Hammers chief could use this fixture as an opportunity to rotate his resources ahead of the Europa Conference League final to follow just 10 days later.
Having said that, even a full-strength West Ham side could struggle to keep the back door shut here given that they have failed to so in 15 of their 18 top-flight road trips this term to date.
Taking all of this into account, as well the possibility that leaky Leicester may need to score at least twice if they are to claim top honours, backing the hosts to hit Over 1.5 Team Goals seems like a sensible solution at 5/6 (Betfred).
One of the few shining lights for Leicester this season has been the form of James Maddison who makes plenty of appeal at 11/10 (PaddyPower) in the To Score or Assist market.
The Foxes playmaker has either scored or provided a goal in 19 of his 29 Premier League appearances this season so he definitely represents a spot value to have direct goal involvement on Sunday as the relegation fight reaches its dramatic climax.
This English Premier League match between Leicester City and West Ham United will be played on May 28, 2023 and kick off at 16:30. Check below for our tipsters best Leicester City vs West Ham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.