Forget Said: Moyes must unleash "special" WHU gem whose "class is permanent" on Foxes - opinion

David Moyes’ West Ham United side head into Sunday’s Premier League clash against Leicester City having addressed a recent slump in form last time out, with the Irons defeating a resilient Watford 1-0 on Tuesday.

However, while Brendan Rodgers’ side have been far from their best this season – currently occupying 13th place in the top-flight standings – the Foxes will undoubtedly pose a different challenge to that of a home fixture against the Hornets, especially at the King Power Stadium.

As such, Moyes simply must ensure that he gets his starting XI absolutely spot-on this afternoon, with Manuel Lanzini’s recent form suggesting that the 28-year-old should be given the nod ahead of Said Benrahma.

While the Argentina international has become a bit-part player for West Ham in recent years, the midfielder who Declan Rice dubbed a “special” talent has enjoyed something of a renaissance in the past couple of months, turning in a number of match-winning performances for his team.

Indeed, after failing to start any of the Hammers’ opening 14 league fixtures this season – not featuring at all in six of those matches – the £70k-per-week attacker has since started all but two of the Irons’ last 10 league fixtures.

Over his 18 Premier League appearances this season – only eight of which have come from the first whistle – the £9m-rated magician has impressed, scoring four goals, registering two assists and creating two big chances for his team-mates, along with making 0.9 key passes and taking 0.6 shots per game.

These returns have seen the player – about whom Martin Tyler stated that his “class is permanent” – average a SofaScore match rating of 6.92, ranking him as Moyes’ joint ninth-best performer in the league so far this term.