KING POWER STADIUM, LEICESTER — Survival Sunday is here, with Leicester City knowing their Premier League fate is out of their hands as the Foxes take on West Ham United to close out the season. 

Leicester must win no matter what, as they currently sit in 18th position, two points adrift of Everton in safety. Meanwhile, Jamie Vardy and company will be hoping the Toffees drop points against Bournemouth. 

A draw in that game on Merseyside, coupled with a Leicester win, would see the Foxes stay up on goal difference. Switch that to an Everton loss and the margin of survival would be a point. 

Leeds United are the other team in the mix, but they sit below Leicester with a far inferior goal difference. Indeed, the Yorkshire giants would need to hit double-digits against Tottenham Hotspur today. 

The Sporting News is live from the East Midlands, with goal updates and highlights below, followed by postgame reaction. 

Leicester vs West Ham live score

Live Premier League relegation table

Leicester vs West Ham updates, highlights from Premier League relegation battle 

16th min: End-to-end stuff now. Iheanacho collects a fantastic long ball inside the penalty area but Aguerd cleans up superbly, which sets up an attack that ends in an effort cutting in from the left from Antonio. 

13th min: Though Leicester will be happy with their play so far, West Ham are providing a reminder of what they can do on the counter. Antonio bullying Faes to hold up the ball and spray it wide to Benhrama for a burst up the flank isn’t quite capitalised on, but the Irons are growing into the game. 

5th min: The best atmosphere this place has seen for a little while. A positive start from the hosts with Iheanacho and Barnes making bright runs and interchanging. Elsewhere, Leeds have gone 1-0 down to Spurs. 

KICK-OFF: We are underway on a massive afternoon of Premier League action! The players take a knee beforehand in support of the No Room for Racism campaign. 

20 mins to KO: There’s no doubt the mood on Filbert Way has been far more subdued than usual this season, and chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has called on the home support to help the 2016/17 champions today. 

He wrote in his programme notes: “This is not a day for regrets. Today we have the opportunity to affect a crucial game with a big atmosphere and I know our fans will be up for the task. The odds may be against us but we’ve overcome the odds before, with each occasion being defined by shared belief and an utter feeling of togetherness that has seen us over the line. Foxes. Never. Quit.” 

40 mins to KO: Despite his poor form of late, Maddison is clearly the Foxes’ most important player and will be the key to a victory over the Irons. The England international has 10 goals and nine assists in the league this season. If he lays on another assist today, he’d be the first Leicester player to hit double figures in both categories since the departure of Riyad Mahrez, who did so twice in three years. 

The man he’ll be teeing up is Iheanacho, who was taken off at half-time on Monday in his first appearance since late April. The Nigeria international has struck five times in the league in 2022/23, the most recent of those being an equaliser from the penalty spot against Wolverhampton Wanderers last month. 

1 hour to KO: Team news is in… there’s no Vardy in the starting XI! Kelechi Iheanacho leads the line, with Maddison and Barnes either side. Harry Souttar is surprisingly dropped.

Your Foxes XI on Filbert Way 📝#LEIWHU pic.twitter.com/MreIenDr3P

— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 28, 2023

Your Hammers to face the Foxes ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/NCaFUyUM3b

— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 28, 2023

1 hour 20 mins to KO: While the attention today is naturally on the hosts, it’s also a big day for West Ham’s captain fantastic. Declan Rice looks almost certain to move on this summer, with Arsenal the most widely-linked destination and Manchester United seemingly entering the battle for his signature, too. 

The 24-year-old has already racked up 203 league appearances for the Hammers, becoming the heartbeat of the team. Everything goes through him, as evidenced by being the only man in the squad to complete over 2,000 passes this term — his closest teammate is Lucas Pacqueta on 1,078. 

1 hour 40 mins to KO: Welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage from King Power Stadium! The reverse fixture this season ended with a victory for Leicester, then managed by Brendan Rodgers, with West Ham themselves in the relegation battle at the time. James Maddison and Harvey Barnes — both dropped for last Monday’s trip to Newcastle United — were the goalscorers that day. 

The Irons have of course dramatically turned their campaign around in the last couple of months, with David Moyes guiding his team to safety while also making a European final. Declan Rice and co. will take on Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League showpiece in Prague in early June. 

Leicester vs West Ham lineups, team news 

For the hosts, all eyes were on whether James Maddison and Harvey Barnes would start, after Dean Smith chose to leave them out of the starting XI at Newcastle United in a 0-0 draw on Monday evening, and they both do. They’ll flank Kelechi Iheanacho, in for Jamie Vardy. 

Caglar Soyuncu will miss out through injury, and has almost certainly now played his final match for the club. Jonny Evans is okay after some cramp last time out, but Ricardo Pereira and Wilfried Ndidi are not. 

• Leicester XI: Iversen (GK); Castagne, Faes, Evans, Thomas; Soumare, Dewsbury-Hall, Tielemans; Maddison, Iheanacho, Barnes.

For the Irons, Emerson Palmieri doesn’t make it after a late fitness test, but Nayef Aguerd is back in action. Declan Rice could well be playing his final league game in claret and blue, with the midfielder heavily linked with a move to either Arsenal or Manchester United. Tomas Soucek drops to the bench.

• West Ham XI: Fabianski (GK); Coufal, Kehrer, Aguerd, Cresswell; Downes, Rice, Fornals; Pacqueta, Antonio, Benrahma. 

What time is Leicester vs West Ham? 

All Premier League games on matchday 38 kick off at the same time, 4:30 p.m. local time. This translates across selected timezones as below.