West Ham travel to Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday. Both teams are in desperate need of a win after a run of poor results.
The Hammers are without a win in five league games. Two draws and three defeats in that time have seen Manuel Pellegrini’s side fall to 13th in the table.
As for Burnley, three straight defeats mean the Clarets find themselves down in 14th, one point behind West Ham.
Burnley were comprehensively beaten by Sheffield United in their previous game. The Blades thoroughly deserved their 3-0 win, while Burnley offered very little resistance.
The Clarets conceded four goals against Chelsea a fortnight ago, and for a team that is renowned for its solidity and work-rate, Burnley’s lack of fight in recent weeks will be a huge concern for manager Sean Dyche.
A record of W3/D3/L5 in the Premier League is a record that Burnley will be eager to improve, while their goal difference of –4 is also worrying.
On the other hand, West Ham have worries of their own. After a promising start to the season, the Hammers look like a team extremely low on confidence.
Defeats to Crystal Palace, Everton and Newcastle in the space of a month mean West Ham haven’t won in the league since beating Manchester United in September.
West Ham’s record in the Premier League currently stands at W3/D4/L5. They have scored the same amount of goals as Burnley (14), but have conceded one less than the Clarets.
The Hammers’ dip in form has coincided with an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. The Poland international was in fine form prior to his injury, but he isn’t expected to feature for West Ham until 2020.
With Michail Antonio, Jack Wilshire and Winston Reid all sidelined with injuries, Manuel Pellegrini’s options are limited.
As for Burnley, Sean Dyche won’t be able to recall Johann Berg Gudmundsson to his starting eleven just yet, while Chris Wood could make a comeback after missing Burnley’s last match with a thigh problem.
West Ham have won six of their last nine games against Burnley. However, the Clarets have come out on top in two of the last three meetings between the teams.
Both teams will be desperate for three points on Saturday, but neither team will want to lose this match.
Forebet predicts that West Ham and Burnley will cancel each other out with a high-scoring draw.