Ruud van Nistelrooy faces West Ham to begin Leicester era

After witnessing the 4-1 beating against Brentford from the stands on Saturday, Ruud van Nistelrooy will lead Leicester for the first time on Tuesday as they host West Ham at the King Power Stadium. The Dutchman, who is in his second permanent managerial role after PSV Eindhoven, will look to bag his first win as Foxes manager after leaving Manchester United, who appear to be thriving under new boss Amorim.

Van Nistelrooy took charge of the Red Devils on an interim basis for a 4-match period, during which he faced and beat the same Leicester twice - a 5-2 win in the Carabao Cup and a 3-0 win in the Premier League. Despite the ex-striker's positive results, Amorim opted to have his coaching staff from former club Sporting Lisbon, thus axing Van Nistelrooy. But just two weeks later it was announced that he would be taking over from Steven Cooper, who was relieved from his duties following a disappointing start to the season - only won twice from 12 matches in the league.

Now Van Nistelrooy has the task of turning Leicester's fortunes around, but he does not have much room for mistakes as the midlands club sits in 16th position, just a point safe from the relegation zone. Demotion to the Championship would be extremely disappointing for the side as they look to maintain their place in the English top-flight having won promotion last season.

The former Real Madrid forward's challenge begins with West Ham, who are going through a tough period themselves. The Hammers suffered a thumping 2-5 loss in the hands of Arsenal at the weekend and currently find themselves in 14th position with 15 points - 5 above their upcoming opponents. In their trip to Leicester, Lopetegui's side could be without striker Niclas Fullkrug upfront due to injury, while Van Nistelrooy sees the names of Ricardo Pereira, Harry Winks, Jakub Stolarczyk, Caleb Okoli and Abdul Fatawu in the Foxes' list of injuries/doubts for the clash.

 

December 2, 2024