West Ham United will endeavour to close in on the top seven of the Premier League when they travel to Turf Moor to face basement club Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
The Clarets, meanwhile, are seeking to end a torrid six-game losing streak and claim their first points of the season on home soil.
Match preview
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After cruising to the Championship title with 101 points last season and spending around £100m on new players in the summer, there was optimism from the football community that Vincent Kompany's youthful Burnley side would kick on in the Premier League and quickly settle into life back in the big time. Instead, they have endure quite the opposite.
Indeed, no team in Premier League history has accumulated fewer points than the Clarets (four) from the opening 12 games of a season, and they unsurprisingly sit rock bottom of the table – now level on points with Everton following their 10-point deduction for breaching financial rules.
Since claiming their only top-flight win of the season away at fellow promoted side Luton Town in early October, Burnley have suffered five straight league defeats and have conceded 14 goals in the process, losing 3-1 at Arsenal in their most recent fixture before the international break – not since 1895 have Burnley lost six successive top-flight games.
Many clubs would welcome a return to home soil, but Burnley have failed to satisfy the Turf Moor faithful this season having lost all six home matches by an aggregate score of 18-5; defeat to West Ham on Saturday would see them become just the second-ever English team to lose their first seven league games on their own patch after Newport County in the fourth tier in 1970-71.
All hope is not lost for Burnley just yet, though, as victory this weekend could see them climb out of the relegation zone if other results go their way, although they do come up against a West Ham side whom they have failed to beat in their last four meetings.
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Following a four-game winless run at the end of October, West Ham have since fared better in the month of November and entered the international break on a high after winning three of their last four matches in all competitions.
The Hammers moved one step closer to securing their spot in the Europa League knockout rounds with a 1-0 win over Olympiacos, three days before beating Nottingham Forest 3-2 in the Premier League last time out, with Tomas Soucek netting an 88th-minute winner to help David Moyes's men snap a three-game losing run in the top flight.
Sitting ninth in the Premier League table, West Ham are only three points adrift of Newcastle United in seventh place and four behind Manchester United in sixth. With fixtures against Burnley, Crystal Palace and Fulham on the horizon, Moyes and co will hope to build a strong run of form to remain in touch with their fellow European chasers.
West Ham head into Saturday's contest having won each of their last seven Premier League meetings against promoted teams, while they have also won each of their previous 10 matches against the side starting the day at the bottom of the table.
However, success against Burnley is not a given, as the Hammers have failed to score in three of their last four visits to Turf Moor – drawing 0-0 in their last trip in December 2021 – while they have only won two of their last 10 top-flight away games, losing each of their last three and conceding 10 goals in the process.
Team News
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Burnley trio Manuel Benson (ankle), Ameen Al-Dakhil (knock) and Hjalmar Ekdal (knee) are all doubtful with injuries, while Lyle Foster remains absent due to mental health reasons.
Right-back Connor Roberts and midfielder Josh Cullen, who watched on as unused substitutes against Arsenal last time out, will hope to force their way back into the starting lineup at the expense of Vitinho and Josh Brownhill.
Michael Obafemi made his first appearance of the season as a late substitute versus the Gunners, and the striker is set to battle with Jay Rodriguez for a start in attack alongside Zeki Amdouni, who is yet to score a home goal for the Clarets.
As for West Ham, Michail Antonio is facing two to three weeks on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury on international duty with Jamaica, while Jarrod Bowen is nursing a similar problem, but Moyes is hopeful that the attacker will be fit to feature; Nayef Aguerd, meanwhile, is available despite sustaining a knock on international duty with Morocco.
Bowen, who has scored in all six Premier League away games this season, would be expected to lead the line if he passes a late fitness test, but his potential absence could see either former Burnley man Danny Ings or Mohamed Kudus start as the central striker.
The possibility of Kudus playing further forward could therefore give James Ward-Prowse the license to roam into an advanced midfield role, while Soucek and Edson Alvarez sit just in front of the back four.
Vladimir Coufal was sent home from Czech Republic duty after being pictured in a nightclub shortly before a crucial Euro 2024 qualifier with Moldova on Monday, but the right-back should be available to play for the Hammers this weekend.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Roberts, O'Shea, Beyer, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Cullen, Berge, Koleosho; Amdouni, Rodriguez
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Bowen
We say: Burnley 1-3 West Ham United
Burnley can ill-afford to drop too many more points and must significantly improve at both ends of the pitch if they wish to ease the threat of being cut adrift at the bottom of the table.
The Clarets will hope to have some joy in the final third against a West Ham outfit who have struggled on their travels in recent weeks, but Moyes's men should have few problems outscoring the hosts, even if Bowen misses out through injury, en route to claiming maximum points at Turf Moor.
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