Two of the Premier League's most out-of-form teams meet at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as Leicester City host West Ham United.
Leicester are bottom of the table and are seven points adrift of safety, while the Hammers currently sit in ninth and are eyeing a top-10 finish for the first time in two years.
Leicester City
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If the Foxes are going to survive their first season back in the Premier League then they need to start picking up points quickly.
An awful run of form prior to the international break has seen them drift away from their relegation rivals, as they collected just two points from eight games.
Manager Nigel Pearson will justifiably point to their tough fixtures, which saw them play Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in that period, but he will know that they need to take full advantage of their kinder run-in.
They will play host to the likes of Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers, while they also face relegation rivals Burnley and Sunderland away.
Six of their final nine games will be played at the King Power Stadium, starting with their match against West Ham, but that may not be the blessing Leicester fans are hoping for.
The Midlands team have the worst home record in the entire division, and have won just twice in front of their own supporters this season. Their last home victory came against Aston Villa in January, while they have since lost narrowly to Stoke City and Crystal Palace, and drawn with Hull City.
Scoring goals has been a problem for them too, and they have failed to find the net in their own stadium in four of their last six games. However, Pearson will hope that their three goals in their loss to Spurs last time out can be the catalyst for an improved record in front of goal.
In Jeffrey Schlupp, Esteban Cambiasso and Jamie Vardy they possess plenty of creativity, while Leonardo Ulloa proved earlier in the season that he can score goals at this level.
Recent form: LLDLDL
Recent form (all competitions): LLDLDL
West Ham United
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West Ham's season is a tale of two halves, as their early-season form deserted them badly after Christmas.
Their 1-0 win over Sunderland prior to the international break was their first victory since mid-January, but manager Sam Allardyce is still under intense pressure.
Rumours are circulating that the experienced Englishman will not be offered a new contract in the summer, so a strong finish to the season is important for him to prove to the board that he is the right man to lead them in their final campaign at Upton Park before they move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016.
Allardyce will be encouraged by their run-in, which sees them mainly face teams in the bottom half, while only a trip to Manchester City looks daunting.
The Hammers enter this game without an away win since early December, when they beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1, and they haven't won back-to-back league games since they followed up their success at The Hawthorns with a home victory over Swansea City.
With just one clean sheet from their previous 20 games, the East London team will aim to become a tough side to beat once again in their final nine games.
Recent form: DDLLLW
Recent form (all competitions): LDLLLW
Team News
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Leicester could pick England Under-21 international Liam Moore, after they recalled him from his loan spell at Brentford earlier today.
The 22-year-old defender joined the Championship side in February and had expected to remain with them until the end of the season, before the Foxes brought him back in time for Saturday's match.
Moore could replace Ritchie de Laet at right-back, while Matthew Upson is fighting to stay in the team at left-back ahead of Marcin Wasilewski.
However, Pearson is without Dean Hammond, who is still missing with a calf problem, while defender Zoumana Bakayogo remains a long-term absentee with a knee injury.
West Ham will be relieved that influential centre-back Winston Reid is fit again following a month out with a hamstring injury. The New Zealand international penned a new six-year-deal at Upton Park last month, despite rumoured interest from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Reid is likely to slot straight back into the first XI and partner James Collins, who continues to deputise for the injured James Tomkins.
In attack, Diafra Sakho is expected to start as Enner Valencia misses the match with a toe injury. Sakho is likely to play on his own up front, although Allardyce will have both Carlton Cole and Nene on the substitutes' bench.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel, Moore, Morgan, Huth, Wasilewski, Schlupp, James, Cambiasso, Vardy, Nugent, Ulloa.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Adrian, Jenkinson, Collins, Reid, Cresswell, Song, Kouyate, Noble, Downing, Jarvis, Sakho.
Head To Head
West Ham eased to a 2-0 win over Leicester in the reverse fixture in December, thanks to goals from Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing at Upton Park.
Their recent head to head record certainly favours the Londoners, who did the double over Saturday's opponents on their way to promotion from the Championship in 2011-2012.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Leicester City 0-2 West Ham United
With both of these sides in such poor form, it makes this game very hard to call. However, with Leicester's alarming home record, and West Ham's confidence-boosting win last time out, we're going for an away win.
Charlie Bennett
