West Ham United head to Burnley FC tomorrow night for a Premier League fixture that’s critical to the top four race. The Hammers need to win to make sure they don’t fall too far behind Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification.
A win means the Irons would then be three points behind the Blues for the fourth and final UCL slot, with four matches left to play. In other words, their margin for error is tiny! Luckily, they’re facing a Clarets side that isn’t all too worrisome for their opponents right now.
West Ham United at Burnley FC FYIs
Kickoff: May 3, 8:15, Turf Moor
West Ham Starting XI Prediction: go here
PL Position: West Ham 6th 55 points, Burnley 16th, 36 points
TV: Sky Sports
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Odds: West Ham 23/18, Burnley 23/10, Draw 13/5
Form Guide: West Ham LDWWLL Burnley DWLLLW
Team News for Both Sides
For this match-up of sides that wear powder blue and maroon, we’ll start with the home side. Burnley are nine points above the drop zone, so they don’t have to worry too much about getting relegated. They seem to be very safe at this point.
They also have no new injury concerns for this match, but they will be without the services of absentees Robert Brady and Kevin Long, both of which have calf injuries. Turning to the visitors, manager David Moyes will dealing with a quartet of doubts in this match: Michail Antonio (hamstring), Aaron Cresswell (hamstring), Arthur Masuaku (knee) and Declan Rice (knee).
Jesse Lingard, despite not featuring in the league until February, is tied with Tomas Soucek for the team lead in scoring, with nine goals. They’ll need him to remain in high form to get the result they seek here.
West Ham 1, Burnley 0
It might not be the prettiest, but I think the London club will get a result here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.