West Ham United 2-0 Leicester City

West Ham have won nine of 17 Premier League matches this season and are fourth in the table

• Goals from Carroll and Downing give West Ham the win

• Hammers unbeaten in seven home Premier League games

• Leicester manager Pearson on touchline for Foxes

• West Ham remain fourth, Leicester stay bottom

West Ham remain fourth in the Premier League after beating a Leicester side who are without a win in 12 games.

Andy Carroll put the home side ahead, pouncing on a poor backpass from ex-Hammer Paul Konchesky before dinking the ball over the on-rushing Ben Hamer.

Stewart Downing doubled the hosts' advantage with a curling 20-yard shot.

West Ham goalkeeper Adrian denied David Nugent and Leonardo Ulloa late on as the Foxes suffered their seventh successive away Premier League defeat.

After winning promotion and making a promising start to their top-flight campaign, Nigel Pearson's Leicester have failed to win since a spectacular 5-3 victory against Manchester United on 21 September.

The visitors never looked like earning a point after an error from Konchesky, who spent two years at Upton Park from July 2005 to July 2007, gifted Carroll a goal with an awful backpass from the halfway line.

West Ham, whose highest ever Premier League finish was fifth in the 1998-99 season, were 2-0 up 10 minutes after the break when England winger Downing produced the best moment of an otherwise scrappy match, with a wonderfully-taken curled finish for his fourth goal of the season.

Pearson, who earlier in the week was handed a one-game touchline ban, was able to take his place in the dugout as he is appealing against that decision and midway through the second half he made a triple substitution, bringing on strikers Ulloa and Nugent as well as midfielder Anthony Knockaert.

Nugent gave Leicester more of an attacking threat, shooting over from the edge of the area, before he had a close-range volley pushed away by Adrian, who later parried Ulloa's header.

But that was as good as it got for the Foxes as West Ham, who visit league leaders Chelsea on Boxing Day, closed out a deserved victory.

Leicester will be bottom of the Premier League table at Christmas and in the 22 seasons of the competition only Sunderland, last season, and West Brom, in 2004-05, have avoided relegation after being in similar positions.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said:

"Being fourth in the Premier League is a great Christmas present for everybody at West Ham. Having 31 points before Christmas is a pretty major achievement for us.

"There is no doubt we deserved to win with the quality finishes from Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing. Stewart is one of the best attacking players in the Premier League with the way he is playing, and he is getting goals on the back of that. It is a very big win for us before we have Chelsea next.

"None of Nigel Pearson's players let him down. They gave everything and when we went 2-0 up they caused us some problems. He is a very good manager and he has proved that. I hope the club are patient with him and give him some funds to spend in January."

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson said:

"The first goal we conceded was a big blow for us, the second was a quality finish from Stewart Downing and we continue to not be able to take our chances. Their goalkeeper made three saves and our players are very disappointed, but our destiny is still in our own hands.

"I can look my players in their eyes and see they are very much up for the challenge. We have seen enough positive performances to suggest we will turn it around but we have to do it soon.

"It is not a case of shirking the responsibility or sticking my head in the sand. I'm very aware of our situation, but we are capable of changing it."

West Ham forward Carroll's first-half strike was his third goal of the season

Leicester manager Pearson may serve a one-match touchline ban in the future after insulting a fan in a previous game

Downing's goal was his third in his last seven Premier League appearances

Leicester are five points adrift of safety after 17 Premier League matches of the season