Soccer: Leicester must be wary of wounded West Brom, says James

(Reuters) - Leicester City midfielder Matty James has urged his team mates to expect a difficult test in Saturday's Premier League match at West Bromwich Albion, saying that the bottom side will be desperate for points in their fight to avoid relegation.

West Brom are on a five-game league losing streak to sit eight points adrift of safety with nine games left and James, who helped Leicester avoid the drop from a similar position in 2015, has insisted that the Baggies will put up a fight.

"We have a tough game now at West Brom, who are fighting for their lives and we know what that is like because we have been there," James was quoted as saying by the Leicester Mercury.

"It is not an easy game. I know some people may think it will be, but we know we have to go there and try to upset the home fans early and get the fans on top of them, and take our chances.

"It is that time of year in terms of everyone is now fighting for something. The bottom teams need wins and the teams in the middle want to avoid getting sucked into that, and we are pushing for a top finish."

James, 26, was part of the Leicester team that launched a late comeback in the 2014-15 season, winning seven of their last nine league matches to secure top-flight survival. The club went on to win the Premier League title in the following campaign.

Leicester, who are currently eighth in the standings, will be keen to end their five-match winless streak in the league.

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru)