Verdict: West Ham United to win and both teams to score
Bookmaker: Zetbet
Burnley will be looking for their first home win of the season in the Premier League when they welcome West Ham on Turf Moor on Saturday. It will be a tall order to complete, despite nearly 18,000 fans that are expected to be cheering for a win of their favourites.
Burnely
Vincent Company’s fairy tale with Burnley might end before New Year’s Eve if he fails to stir the ship in a better direction. Although the young Belgian manager impressed last season winning the Championship, the lack of experience at the highest level, that is the Premier League, seems to be a too big hat to wear. The hosts are at the bottom of the table with just 4 points from 12 games (level with Everton). A very concerning aspect of Burnley’s game is the lack of accuracy in front of the opposition’s goalie and the poor defence.
Scoring just 9 goals in 12 matches and conceding 30 is a poor performance that will be very difficult to turn around. However, considering that other teams are also finding themselves caught at the bottom of the table, Burnley still has a good chance of avoiding relegation by the end of the season. Luton, the 1st team above the floating line has 2 points more than Burnley, a deficit Vincent Company can overturn by the end of May.
Team News
Nathan Redmond is expected to return to the 1st team after he recovered from his minor ankle injury. Vincent Company took advantage of the international break preparing with all his available players, the crucial fixture with West Ham. Hjalmar Ekdal has been out since suffering a terrible knee injury.
Lyle Foster, the talented centre forward, is still recovering from his depression. Alongside him, his fellow attacking striker, Michael Obafemi’ is working hard to recover in time from his hamstring injury. Burnley is playing the home matches in a 4-3-3 attacking set-up compared to their 4-4-2 system used in the away games.
West Ham
West Ham displayed some recovery signs recently after the 3 consecutive defeats suffered at the end of October. David Moyes’s team reached the knock-out phase of the Europa League after a narrow win at home against Olympiacos (1-0), turning back their attention to domestic games. A 3-2 spectacular win in front of their fans against Nottingham Forrest propelled The Hammers to 9th with 17 points. The visitors don’t enjoy playing away from home losing 4 of the last 6 matches. The experienced Scottish manager will be looking to improve his team’s defence set-up, conceding 9 goals in the last 3 games played on the road.
West Ham surprisingly gave away a 2-1 halftime lead at Brentofrd, suffering a fall in the 2nd half when they conceded 2 goals in 14 minutes, losing in the end 3-2. The Hammers failed to improve in their last 5 games played at Turf Moor winning only once. Michail Antonio’s weak performance in this season was felt heavily by the London side. The Jamaica international player scored only 2 goals this season despite featuring in most of the matches.
Team News
David Moyes has all his players fit and available to face Burnley. It remains to be seen who will feature in the first 11 since many starters were involved in action with their national teams. A 4-2-3-1 attacking set-up is expected against Burnley.
Soucek who had impressive performances for the Czech Republic is expected to start with Bowen playing as a striker. Zouma and Aguerd will play as centre-backs, and Emerson with Coufal will cover the sides. Paqueta who has an excellent season will hope to make his mark on the game, as he did against Nottingham Forrest.
Key factors to consider
- Burnley are bottom of the table having the weakest attack in the Premier League (9 goals scored).
- The hosts lost all of their last 6 competitive games.
- Vincent Kompany’s team lost this season all of their games played on Turf Moor.
- West Ham won 3 of their last 4 competitive matches.
- The visitors are undefeated in the last 2 games played away with Burnley (W1D1).
- West Ham scored 21 goals in the Premier League so far, 12 more than Burnley.
Conclusion
I am expecting a very difficult game for West Ham, despite Burnley’s very poor display in front of their own fans. Although Vincent Kompany had 2 weeks to prepare for this match, West Ham’s value will most probably be the decisive factor. A narrow win for West Ham with both teams scoring is a very possible result.
Verdict: West Ham United to win and both teams to score
Bookmaker: Zetbet
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