The sacking of Leicester boss Sven Goran Eriksson may well inspire or deflate the Foxes when they come to Upton Park for Saturday’s Championship clash
On the opening day of the season it was Leicester City and West Ham who stood as joint favourites for the Championship crown.
They may still be in the chasing pack, but Sven Goran Eriksson has already paid the price for his expensively assembled team not being in the promotion places after a dozen matches with his job.
The only win on their travels came at Coventry City on the opening day, while Saturday’s horrendous 3-0 home defeat by lowly Millwall, not only had the fans calling for his head, it also cost me lots of cash as it spoiled my six home wins bet!
Eriksson, as always, splashed the cash during the summer, bringing in former Hammers Paul Konchesky and John Pantsil as well as Kasper Schmeichel, Neil Danns, Matt Mills, Sean St Ledger and strikers David Nugent and �3million man Jermaine Beckford.
Add to that Michael Johnson and Gelson Fernandes on loan and it becomes apparent that the Foxes are desperate to be playing Premier League football next season, so perhaps their knee-jerk reaction to Saturday’s defeat is no real surprise these days.
They sit 13th in the table, though their tally of 19 points means they are still within touching distance of the play-offs, despite an indifferent start.
They may have only won one away game, but they have also only lost one – drawing four – that reverse coming in a 2-0 defeat at Birmingham City.
While some have disappointed, striker Nugent has certainly lived up to his reputation with four goals so far and he will be the one to watch on Saturday.
It is difficult to predict how the Leicester players will react to the loss of the Swedish one.
Often the demise of a manager inspires a team who are looking to impress a prospective new boss, but that remains to be seen.
With Bristol City to come next Tuesday, West Ham will be looking for six points from back-to-back home games. They should get them.
Possible line-up: Schmeichel, Konchesky, St Ledger, Bamba, Peltier, King, Dyer, Wellens, Johnson, Nugent, Beckford.
Prediction: West Ham United 2
Leicester City 0
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