CZECH DUO FEATURE IN LEICESTER DRAW

The Czech Republic duo of Tomas Soucek andVladimir Coufal featured in the West Ham United starting XI during the 2-2 draw with hosts Leicester City in the Premier League last weekend. Czech Republic seniornational team right-back Coufal was substituted for Ryan Fredericks midway into the second half after he was given a torrid time by Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes. On his part, Czech Republic international Soucekwas on for the entire duration of the league match which took place at the King Power Stadium.

West Ham United are one of the many teams chasing a place in  the top-four places alongside London rivals Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in addition to Wolves and Manchester United. The Hammers took the lead against Leicester City through the in-form Jarrod Bowen on ten minutes. West Ham United held on to that advantage until the final minute of the first half when left-back Aaron Cresswell handled the ball in the box and he was punished by Leicester City midfielder YouriTielemans from the resulting penalty to ensure that the two teams went into the break on level terms.

Leicester City struggled for the majority of thefirst half, but they were given a lifeline with the Tielemans penalty and that gave the reigning FA Cup champions the impetus for an improved second half performance. The Foxes took the lead for the first time in the game when Barnes supplied the assist for Ricardo Pereira to score in the 57^th minute. Leicester City held on to that lead until the first minute of stoppage time when English central defender Craig Dawson scored off the corner kick from Bowen to ensure that his team secured a point from the game.

West Ham United moved one point clear of Manchester United in fourth spot with the 2-2 draw at Leicester City, but they have since dropped to fifth after the Red Devils secured a 2-0 home win over Brighton in a rescheduled league game played on Tuesday. Manchester United are now I  fourth spot and they have two points more than the Hammers.