West Ham welcomes newly manager-less Burnley to East London and the Olympic Stadium in match week 33 of English Premier League action. The East Londoners are riding high after bundling the French side Lyon out of the Europa League at the quarter-final stage in midweek. The 3-0 victory over Olympique Lyonnais secured David Moyes and his men the Irons first major European semi-final in almost 50 years.
The Hammers will need to put European glory out of their mind as they look to finish as high as they can in the league. Last weekend they fell to a disappointing defeat to Brentford, they will look to avoid a repeat of that against Burnley this weekend.
Burnley stole the headlines for this match when they sacked Sean Dyche just three days prior to kick-off. The gruff Englishman was given his marching orders after nine and a half years in charge at Turf Moor. His assistant manager and goalkeeping coach followed Dyche out the door with the Clarets four points from safety and just eight games left to play. For the West Ham United team news go here.
West Ham vs Burnley FYIs
When is it? Sunday, April 17 2022 2.15 PM Local Time
Where is it? Olympic Stadium, London
Who’s in form? West Ham (LWDLW) Burnley (LLLWL)
What are the odds? West Ham (-140) Burnley (+400) Draw (+280)
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Starting XI Prediction
Lukasz Fabianski returns to defend the goalmouth, replacing cup goalie Alphonse Areola after his cup heroics.
In defense, Aaron Cresswell returns at left-back after missing the Hammer’s last fixture with suspension. On the opposite defensive flank, Vlad Coufal should start. Craig Dawson and Issa Diop will be the center-back partnership.
Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice will be asked to back things up after their Europa League heroics. Manuel Lanzini will be asked the same in a slightly more attacking role.
I am going with Said Benrahma on the left-wing and Andriy Yarmolenko starting on the right. This will afford Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals some much-needed rest. Michail Antonio starts as the number nine.
Stuey Predicts
On the After Extra Time podcast, I predicted the Hammers to win 2-1. Since the Clarets have sacked Sean Dyche, I have changed my mind. I don’t know whether or not they’ll win at the Olympic Stadium, but the new manager bounce should see them secure an unlikely point. Draw 1-1
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.