Leicester City

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

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Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

When Leicester looked down and out, Jamie Vardy came to the rescue as Ruud Van Nistelrooy continued his unbeaten start to life at the King Power Stadium.

Brighton may well be wondering how they did not come away with the three points but Leicester will not care as Vardy netted his sixth of the season and teed up Bobby De Cordova-Reid for the injury-time equaliser.

Leicester celebrated the point as if it was three and rightly so as they lifted themselves five points adrift of Ipswich Town in 18th place.

After losing three on the spin, Van Nistelrooy has not only steadied the ship but he has put four points out of a possible six on the board.

Not only are the Foxes inching further away from the relegation zone but they are building much needed confidence ahead of a trip to Newcastle and a potential relegation six-pointer against 19th placed Wolves.

After the final whistle, the King Power was joyful and hopeful despite the Van Nistelrooy reign only being underway for a week.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Leicester’s performance

What did you make of Brighton’s display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Four matches make up Sunday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

• Fulham v Arsenal - 14:00 - BBC Radio 5 Live commentary

• Ipswich v Bournemouth - 14:00

• Leicester v Brighton 14:00

• Tottenham v Chelsea - 16:30 - BBC Radio 5 Live commentary

All kick-off times GMT

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 15 he takes on Dougie Payne, bassist with rock band Travis.

Sutton's prediction: 0-3

I am not fooled by what Leicester did against West Ham, as big a win as it was for them.

The Hammers wasted so many chances, and the Foxes' defensive issues have clearly not gone away.

Well done to new Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, but he has got a hell of a job on his hands to keep them up.

I did not see Brighton's defeat at Fulham coming, because the Seagulls have been so impressive. They will be angry after that performance, and looking to prove a point. Away win, no doubt about it.

Payne's prediction: 2-2

Leicester look like a different team under Van Nistelrooy - it is kind of like what has happened with Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, where the players all look like they have just got out of jail. Brighton have really impressed me this season, and I feel like there could be some goals here.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport Journalist

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Brighton (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On player availability: "The squad from Tuesday is available. Odsonne [Edouard] was back on the pitch, so that's an addition to Tuesday's squad. Other than that, we don't expect any changes."

• He provided an update on Harry Winks: "Harry is progressing well but he's not yet into team training."

• Van Nistelrooy confirmed that there will be money available to spend in the January transfer window if needed, adding: "We said there is no rush to do things and I agree with that. The squad we have is getting all of the chances to prove themselves over this month. There is time after that to make a good assessment and we make a decision in January."

• On conceding over 30 attempts against West Ham: "There is attempts and there is chances. We looked at the attempts and some of them are absolutely not chances, but we [conceded] over three expected goals so we have to look at those moments particularly."

• On how he wants to improve this: "It's more when do we get opened up, when are those bigger chances occurring. When we are in a better shape with the backline and midfield, the 4-4-2 shape is our defensive foundation. It's a matter of shifting instead of following the man. It was a good week to work and hopefully we can show some improvement."

• On the search for backroom staff: "It's a similar story to the squad. I'm very open to working with the people here and it's going well. There is a possibility to take my own people but there won't be massive changes - we're talking one or two people with the current people here."

• On Sunday's opponents: "They've had some excellent results against the top clubs. It's impressive the way they are playing and the new manager has settled in and had a flying start."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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On the latest episode of the When You're Smiling podcast, Foxes midfielder Bilal El Khannouss spoke about working with the new boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.

He said: "He worked before with some players I know so I knew a little bit how he was but of course when a manager like this comes in, you listen. He has been a legend, we are very happy with him.

"He has been a top player so you listen to him from the start when he talks.

"He [has] worked a lot with young players in the past as well and we have a lot of young players in the team so I think he can help a lot of players in this team and then we can improve for the next games."

Listen to the full podcast here on BBC Sounds

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Leicester had seven big chances in their 3-1 win over West Ham on Tuesday, in their first game under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

It is the joint-most big chances on record (since 2010-11) that a team has had in their first Premier League match under a new manager, level with Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City against Newcastle (August 2013).

Gary Lineker presents highlights and analysis from eight midweek Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Ipswich Town 0-1 Crystal Palace

• Leicester City 3-1 West Ham United

• Newcastle United 3-3 Liverpool

• Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United

• Aston Villa 3-1 Brentford

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Nick de Marco is one of the most important figures in the current legal soap opera of English football. If you have a problem, you want 'The Godfather' of football finance law on your side.

His work in the complex area of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) - also referred to as Financial Fair Play (FFP) - has led to him being given that name by his own chambers, Blackstone.

After Leicester's immediate promotion back from the Championship, they went into the current campaign under threat of a hefty points deduction as they had been charged by the Premier League in March with exceeding the permitted £105m three-year loss limit.

It was De Marco who led Leicester's defence when they were charged by the Premier League. The case was thrown out in September, with the Premier League saying the independent panel's interpretation "failed to take into account the purpose of the rules".

Many observers felt the 57-year-old had exploited a loophole. It is a theory he rejects.

"That wasn't a loophole," he said. "It is a very simple point. The Premier League should never have brought the case in the first place."

Which brings us to the revised rules around Associated Party Transactions, agreed by a vote at the Premier League meeting on 22 November despite strong opposition from Manchester City and Aston Villa.

Speaking before the vote took place, De Marco said he had some sympathy with City's assertion that rushing through legislation was a mistake.

"People shouldn't rush to change rules," he said. "I have seen this in the Football League and Premier League a lot.

"Two or three years down the line, you get the Premier League furious Leicester have won their case, saying it was because of a loophole in the rules. But they were the rules the Premier League wrote."

Read more of De Marco's interview

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We asked for your thoughts after Tuesday's Premier League game between Leicester City and West Ham.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans

Andrew: What a difference in less than two days. Leicester played like a team, for the first time in weeks. If Jannik Vestergaard hadn’t been subbed, it would have been 3-0. Wout Faes has to go.

Dino: So much better. Not perfect by any means, gave the ball away too much, especially in the first half but a good second half performance. Lots of fight, lots of positives. Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumare were both superb. Can only get better!

Leicester lad: Higher tempo throughout the game was key to winning as it upset the composure of the Hammers at vital times. More commitment, energy and we battled them. We had bit of luck when needed but we earned it by our effort throughout. Come on you blue boys!

West Ham fans

Kevin: That was appalling! I had no hope going into the game and I was proved right. We did the same thing over and over again and failed - go wide, cross the ball, it gets blocked, rinse and repeat. Konstantinos Mavropanos shouldn't come near a starting line up again.

James: You could argue that West Ham were unlucky not to score more, but that ignores the fact that they let in three goals again! The defenders need to defend.

Barry: The manager has to go. Absolutely exposed time after time and he never changed anything to improve it. Yes the scoreline flattered the Foxes but we still lost and the team look lost. There needs to be a change.

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Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson says Leicester's new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will take "delight" from what he saw from his team against West Ham.

"What a result this is for Van Nistelrooy," Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We were talking about a Leicester team devoid of confidence and ideas before the game, but he's got a performance out of that group.

"There's something there for Van Nistelrooy to work on and what he's seen would have given him a lot of delight.

"He's made some big changes. His in-game substitutions and management look good. It's good signs for Leicester."

Emily Salley
BBC Sport journalist

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Leicester captain Jamie Vardy pounced after just 98 seconds in Ruud van Nistelrooy's first game in charge, before Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka struck to seal victory over West Ham.

Vardy has now scored the first Premier League goal under six Leicester City managers in the top flight.

It was also Vardy who broke Van Nistelrooy's record for scoring in consecutive Premier League games when he achieved 11 in a row for Leicester back in 2015.

Van Nistelrooy joked about it on Monday, saying he told Vardy they had a "big issue" to get out of the way before they could start working together.

"We've had one full day together. You could see some stuff worked and some was rusty. We've got more time for the manager to get his things across," Vardy told Amazon Prime after Tuesday's win.

Leicester defender Conor Coady added: "The lads put in a great shift. We can play better. It was all about winning - it was one for the manager.

"The weekend was a dark place but you have to dig deep. We've got a long way to go but it's a great start."

Read the full piece

Leicester City are keen to add to their attacking options by signing a new forward during the January transfer window. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Ruud van Nistelrooy speaking to BBC Match of the Day following victory in his first game as Leicester City boss against West Ham: "I’m very happy. In the end, you look at the result and the three points, in the position that we are in, are vital.

"We know the level in the Premier League and we know in every game we play that everything has to be right. We have to train and develop our defence, our counter attack, our possession.

"We all saw how dominant West Ham were at certain stages and the attempts they created. It’s something we have to look at and do better next time.

"Togetherness, hunger, energy and spirit and fighting for every inch is a foundation to play with against the rest of the Premier League. I saw that. That’s the foundation we have to build on and without that it’ll be impossible to get where we want to go.

"The defensive shape is something important. West Ham have a very flexible build-up, the timing of the press is quite difficult and it needs time and co-ordination to get that right. Many times we missed the moment to press.

"Lots of things to work on but very happy with the three points."

In response to how the fans can help him: "When you see a team that is competing and fighting together, it will have an impact on the stands. When you get that behind you and there is connection again it is vital. It drove our performance.

"The early goal helped, but there were so many duels, tackles and blocks. That’s when fans applaud you. It’s a non-negotiable for us moving forward - that is the attitude [needed]."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Leicester's performance, external

What did you make of West Ham's display?, external

Come back to this page on Wednesday to find a selection of your replies

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Ruud Van Nistelooy was chatting to some early arrivals before walking into the King Power Stadium ahead of his first game in charge.

The new Leicester boss has made an impressive first impression around the club and victory over West Ham on Tuesday would give the fans the same positive feeling.

The Dutchman said at his opening news conference on Monday he was not a romantic and would not compromise victory for style. After five defeats in eight games - including Saturday's poor 4-1 loss at Brentford - the hosts would take a scrappy win.

Van Nistelrooy has had just two days to prepare, taking training for the first time on Sunday after a debrief from caretaker Ben Dawson, so if the Foxes are disjointed there will be reasons for that.

But he wants to play in a similar way to friend and former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca, who he played with at Malaga.

He joked on Monday it meant there would be less work to do as the players would know what he wanted from them, something which predecessor Steve Cooper struggled to convey.

The former Manchester United striker won five titles in three countries during his playing career which demands instant respect but the initial judgements have already started as he enters full-time Premier League management.

Two matches make up Tuesday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

• Ipswich v Crystal Palace (19:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Leicester v West Ham (20:15) - listen on BBC Radio Sports Extra

All kick-off times GMT

Follow all of the action and reaction here

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On the latest episode of the When You're Smiling podcast, former Foxes winger Matt Piper discusses Ruud van Nistelrooy's appointment: "He handles himself well. He is an impressive guy, who has had an impressive career. He was one of the players who won everything at Manchester United and it was easy to look at the group and hate a lot of them, but him I’m not just saying this because he’s now our manager, I was really impressed with him on and off the pitch. He’s calm under pressure and it was a super impressive press conference. He sounds super proud to take this job and it’s his first job in the Premier League. I don’t want to get too excited too early, but I’m really excited to have him as our gaffer.

"You could hear that in his answers [that he wants this job]. Leicester's form isn't great. There’s a feeling of doom and gloom around this club. Leicester is a big club. We’ve got a wonderful training ground, great owners and the staff are absolutely brilliant. We’ve got a rich history. Leicester is a big club. We’ve won the Premier League and the FA Cup recently. He should be proud."

Rob Tanner on the similarities between Enzo Maresca and Van Nistelrooy: "It's not the first time he’s mentioned Maresca. They were former team-mates and are two managers with similar philosophies. They spoke after Chelsea played United for about half an hour and discussed Leicester before they even made the approach and spoke again when Leicester made that contact. Listening to him there are similarities there. All the players looked up to Enzo for what he achieved playing at Juventus, working with Pep [Guardiola], the trophies that he’s won, so there was Instant respect. I think Ruud will get the same. I think they're going to connect with him.

"This is an appointment that really should have happened in the summer. There's a common denominator between the two, which is that Manuel Pellegrini has been a big influence on Enzo and Ruud. He’s managed them and mentored them both and on his year out Ruud spent some time with Pellegrini at Real Betis. I’m excited by this appointment and I hope it works out. There's so much at stake for Leicester and relegation would be a disaster."

Listen to the full podcast here on BBC Sounds

Kate Blakemore
Fan writer

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It has been an intensely volatile week off the pitch for Leicester City featured a contentious Christmas party, a manager sacking, a dressing down and a managerial appointment.

The week concluded with volatility on the pitch, away at Brentford, where we conceded more than three goals for the fourth time this season in the league, despite taking the lead via Facundo Buonanotte assisted by the ever-tenacious Jamie Vardy.

As we enter the season of goodwill, Leicester fans will be hoping for a little Christmas cheer as Ruud van Nistelrooy takes the reins later on Tuesday for his first match against West Ham.

On every fan's Christmas list, surely, is a significant improvement in the defence and more threats in the opposition box.

With the January transfer window around the corner, will Ruud be able to sign three wise men, potentially in the form of a right-back, right winger and striker? It just depends on how much is available to him in the transfer window, as the cloud of profit and sustainability rules is never far away.

His first task will arguably be to re-establish the on-field cohesion and 'band of brothers' unity and belief that we saw throughout last season, along with an accountability and awareness of danger which has, thus far, escaped us.

We can only hope that Ruud is the leader we all want him to be, leading his disciples towards the North Star that is Premier League survival.

Although faced with the stark reality that our squad has fallen short many times this season, with some erratic defending and schoolboy errors, there has been the odd moment of brilliance.

As fans, we expect Ruud to progress the squad towards fulfilling its potential and returning us to a well-oiled machine.

A Ruud awakening is upon us...

Find more from Kate Blakemore at Leicester Till I Die, external