Paul Merson predicts Leicester vs West Ham as Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge for first time

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Leicester City are looking for a first Premier League win in five games as they face West Ham United.

Ruud van Nistelrooy will be in charge for the first time since being appointed as Leicester manager last week.

Van Nistelrooy watched on as the Foxes were hammered by Brentford at the weekend and will be hoping for a winning start in front of fans at the King Power Stadium.

Three points could drag West Ham back into the relegation mix and pull the Foxes further away from the bottom three.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
11	NewcastleNewcastle	13	5	4	4	14	14	0	19
12	Aston VillaAston Villa	13	5	4	4	19	22	-3	19
13	B’mouthBournemouth	13	5	3	5	20	19	1	18
14	West HamWest Ham	13	4	3	6	17	24	-7	15
15	EvertonEverton	13	2	5	6	10	21	-11	11
16	LeicesterLeicester	13	2	4	7	16	27	-11	10
17	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	13	1	6	6	11	18	-7	9
18	WolvesWolves	13	2	3	8	22	32	-10	9
19	IpswichIpswich	13	1	6	6	13	24	-11	9
20	SouthamptonSouthampton	13	1	2	10	10	25	-15	5

One person who has provided their prediction on the six-pointer is Paul Merson so, with that said, here is how the pundit sees this game going.

• READ MORE: How to watch Leicester City vs West Ham United: TV channel, live stream, team news and kick-off time

Paul Merson predicts Leicester struggles to continue against West Ham

There’s plenty of excitement from a Leicester perspective as a new era begins under Van Nistelrooy however, for Merson, that will be short-lived.

Writing in his Sportskeeda column, the former Arsenal star believes that the Foxes “are just not good enough” and that they will fall to defeat again.

He said: “I have watched Leicester so many times this season and they are just not good enough. When they get beat, they are well beaten.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy has a big job at hand now. Don’t get me wrong, he had to take the job when it came up but they have very little chance of staying up.

“I still can’t see West Ham losing this game. I’d be shocked if that happened.”

Merson prediction: Leicester 1-2 West Ham

• READ MORE: Ruud van Nistelrooy handed huge injury boost ahead of first game as Leicester manager

Leicester vs West Ham H2H record

The two teams have faced each over 100 times competitively ahead of Tuesday night’s encounter.

Over the course of those 114 meetings, West Ham have won more games (55) than the Foxes (51).

They’ve drawn the other remaining 34 fixtures.