Leicester City vs West Ham United Prediction: Vardy to get RVN party started at King Power

The Ruud van Nistelrooy era at Leicester City gets underway on Tuesday (20:15, Amazon Prime Video) with the visit of West Ham United to the King Power Stadium. The Foxes and the Irons both suffered big defeats on Saturday, losing 4-1 away to Brentford and 5-2 at home to Arsenal, respectively, so the pressure is on the hosts and visitors in midweek.

Read on for my Leicester City vs West Ham United prediction, alongside team news and match odds, ahead of this Premier League meeting in the East Midlands.

Team News

Harry Winks looks set to miss out on Van Nistelrooy's Leicester debut as he is still struggling with the muscle injury that forced him from the field in the 11th minute of the Foxes' last home game, a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on November 23.

However, the new manager has offered a more positive update on the fitness of defender Caleb Okoli, who "pushed himself" to train on Monday morning and could be named in Tuesday's squad despite coming off injured in Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Brentford following a collision with goalkeeper Mads Hermansen. Jannik Vestergaard came on for the Italian in the 35th minute and is a likely replacement for him in the starting XI if he is not passed fit to play from the off.

Meanwhile, Abdul Fatawu and Ricardo Pereira will definitely miss out for the Foxes, who could hand starts to recently returned duo Patson Daka and Bobby De Cordova Reid. Both have appeared off the bench against Chelsea and Brentford in recent weeks but Jamie Vardy will still hope to lead the line and he could be joined in attack by Stephy Mavididi, who hasn't started any of his side's last three matches.

Football Odds

West Ham are boosted by the return of Ghanaian star Mohammed Kudus, who completed a five-match suspension on the weekend. The 24-year-old could be thrust back into the starting XI following the Irons' 5-2 hammering at the hands of Arsenal on Saturday, with Carlos Soler and Crysencio Summerville most at risk of making way for him.

Edson Alvarez and Guido Rodriguez are also options for head coach Julen Lopetegui if the Spaniard wishes to make changes at the base of his midfield, with Lucas Paqueta potentially dropping to the bench to accommodate either the Mexican or the Argentine.

Meanwhile, French defender Jean-Clair Todibo picked up a "little problem" on the weekend and is a doubt for the trip to the East Midlands, opening up an opportunity for Greek centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos if he has recovered from the virus that caused him to miss a weekend reunion with his former club.

Tuesday's game is likely to come too early for Niclas Fullkrug, however, with the German centre-forward having only recently returned to training following a long lay-off.

Leicester City vs West Ham United Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Leicester City vs West Ham United page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Leicester are 9/5 to start Van Nistelrooy's reign off with a victory, giving the Foxes an implied win probability of 35.7%, while West Ham are 6/4, or a 40% chance, to recover from Saturday's setback by taking all three points at the King Power.

The draw is priced at 5/2, both teams to score at 8/15, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/6.

Vardy (15/8) is favourite in the anytime goalscorer market, followed by Irons captain Jarrod Bowen (2/1).

First Goalscorer - Jamie Vardy (LEI) @ 5/1

"Well done vardy7! You're number one now and you deserved it. #11inarow." That was the message accompanying a grainy photo of Van Nistelrooy in his Man United playing days, written and posted by the man himself (or a social media assistant) on November 28, 2015, the day Vardy moved past the Dutchman and became the first player to score in 11 consecutive Premier League matches.

As fate would have it, just over nine years later Van Nistelrooy is now Vardy's manager and dreaming of the veteran striker embarking on a similar type of run to move the Foxes away from the relegation places.

It's fanciful to suggest Vardy can replicate those sorts of feats at the grand old age of 37, but he has proven that there is still life in the old fox yet, having scored four goals in his first nine league games this season, although he has blanked in his last three - all of which came in November.

Nevertheless, it's a new month, and a new manager behind him now, which could inspire a change of fortunes in his own game, as well as that of his team's.

Given he played just over an hour on Saturday, there's no guarantee that Vardy will start Tuesday's match, but with fellow forwards Daka and De Cordova-Reid only just back from injuries, and Crystal Palace loanee Odsonne Edouard not even in the squad for the weekend trip to west London, Van Nistelrooy may lean on his star striker's experience from the off in his debut game in charge.

If he does get the nod from the beginning, then Vardy is my pick to score the contest's first goal, something he has already done this season - in the 2-2 draw with Palace at Selhurst Park on September 14.

West Ham have conceded the first goal on seven occasions in the Premier League this term and were one down inside the first 10 minutes on Saturday, with the Gunners netting a further three times before the hosts replied in the 38th minute.

Leicester supporters have naturally been at a low ebb in recent weeks with performances matching the poor results they have suffered, but Van Nistelrooy's appointment should, in the short term at least, inject some energy, and the King Power is likely to be right behind him and his players against the Irons.

As a result, I like the 1/1 price for the Foxes to score first, but we can raise that to 5/1 by backing Vardy to be the man to kickstart the RVN revolution.

Bet Builder - Both Teams to Score - Yes, Facundo Buonanotte (LEI) 1+ Shots on Target, Tomas Soucek (WHU) 1+ Shots on Target, Aaron Wan-Bissaka (WHU) 1+ Shots @ 8/1

Leicester are tied at the top of the Premier League 'both teams to score' table alongside Wolves and Brentford, with all three clubs seeing 85 per cent (11) of their first 13 games finish with at least one strike on either side. Five of the Foxes' first six matches at the King Power have seen both teams score, including their last two there - a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on November 23 and a 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest on October 25 - with the outlier so far proving to be a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth three weeks prior to that East Midlands derby defeat.

West Ham, meanwhile, have been BTTS - Yes land in 62 per cent (eight) of their first 13 matches, with half (three) of their six away trips ending with a goal on either side. The Irons have scored exactly twice in their last two games and will expect to strike against an opponent that has kept just one clean sheet all season, while they themselves have only recorded three shutouts, although two of them - in a goalless home draw with Everton and a 2-0 win at Newcastle - did come last month.

Considering the above and the fact this is Van Nistelrooy's first match in charge, meaning there could be a new manager bounce but also some teething problems, I expect both teams to get on the scoresheet on Tuesday.

Next up in this Bet Builder is a shot on target each for Leicester's Facundo Buonanotte and West Ham's Tomas Soucek. Both players scored in November - Buoananotte firing the opener in Saturday's defeat at Brentford and Soucek doing the same in a victory over Newcastle earlier in the week - and they are among the leading marksmen in their teams.

No Leicester player can better Buonanotte's four Premier League goals this season, with Vardy netting the same amount, while only West Ham winger Bowen has struck as many times for the Irons this term as Soucek (both three).

Buonanotte is averaging 0.8 shots on target per game and registered two each against Ipswich Town and Brentford last month either side of failing to score against Manchester United or trouble their goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Soucek, meanwhile, is only averaging 0.6 shots on target per game but has recorded three across his last two matches. The Czech Republic international scored with one of his two efforts on target against Newcastle before seeing a header saved by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya on Saturday.

Finally, I'm backing West Ham's new goalscoring sensation, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, to shoot at least once. The summer signing from Man United scored just twice in his first 182 Premier League appearances for Palace, the Red Devils and the Irons but has now found the net in back-to-back games against Newcastle and Arsenal.

The 27-year-old only averaged 0.1 shots per game last season but that has risen to 0.5 in 2024/25, while he has taken three across his last two matches - one at Newcastle and two against Arsenal last weekend - so looks like a decent bet to make it three games in a row with a shot on Tuesday.

Offers

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