West Ham United will host Burnley in a Premier League clash at the London Stadium on Saturday, looking to get their season back on track.

West Ham United are 18th in the Premier League table, and they will be desperate for survival, with the game vs Burnley posing a major hurdle. The Hammers are coming into this game on the back of an impressive win over Newcastle United. It will be interesting to see if they can build on that and put together a winning run now.

On the other hand, Burnley have lost four of their last six matches in all competitions. The Clarets are 17th in the league table, and they are very much in the battle for survival as well. This could be a six-pointer for both teams. They will be desperate to pick up a win against each other.

West Ham have a decent record against Burnley, and it will be interesting to see if they can get the job done here. On paper, the hosts have the better team, and they should be able to pick up a positive result at home. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

West Ham United

George Earthy is recovering from a hamstring injury, and he will miss out. In addition, Oliver Scarles (shoulder), Konstantinos Mavropanos (thigh), and Niclas Fullkrug (hamstring) are in the treatment room.

West Ham United will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Burnley, with Alphonse Areola in goal. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf will start as the full-backs. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Max Kilman will form the central defensive partnership alongside Jean-Clair Todibo.

As for the midfield unit, Tomas Soucek will start alongside Soungoutou Magassa in the double pivot. They will look to add defensive cover and physicality to the midfield. Mateus Fernandes will start as the attacking midfielder here, and he will look to create goalscoring chances for his teammates.

Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville will add creativity, flair, and goals from the flanks. Finally, Lucas Paqueta will spearhead the West Ham United attack vs Burnley at the London Stadium on Saturday.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Diouf; Soucek, Magassa; Bowen, Fernandes, Summerville; Paqueta

Burnley

The away team will be without Zeki Amdouni and Connor Roberts, who are recovering from knee injuries, and they are likely to miss out on Jordan Beyer (hamstring) as well. However, Hjalmar Ekdal should be fit and available to take on West Ham United.

Burnley will shape up in the 3-4-3 formation vs West Ham United, with Martin Dubravka in goal. In the back three, Kyle Walker will start alongside Hjalmar Ekdal and Maxime Esteve. Oliver Sonne will start alongside Quilindschy Hartman in the wing-back roles. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch.

As for the midfield unit, Josh Cullen will start alongside Josh Laurent in the middle of the park. The two players will look to keep things tight in the centre of the pitch and protect the defensive unit. Finally, Lyle Foster will lead the line for Burnley vs West Ham, with Hannibal Mejbri and Jaidon Anthony on either side of him.

Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Dubravka; Walker, Ekdal, Esteve; Sonne, Cullen, Laurent, Hartman; Mejbri, Foster, Anthony

Key Stats

• Burnley have lost four of the last six matches in all competitions.
• West Ham United have lost four of the last six matches in all competitions.
• West Ham United are undefeated in the last six meetings against Burnley.
• 13 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two teams.
• West Ham United have faced the most shots from set pieces (excl. pens) in the Premier League this season (53), with over a quarter of the attempts they’ve faced coming from corners (26%, 37/145), also a league-high.

Player to Watch

Lucas Paqueta

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The Brazilian midfielder is our key player to watch out for. Paqueta will be expected to create opportunities for his teammates in the final third and add some much-needed technical ability to the side.

West Ham will need him to step up and produce a strong performance if they want to win here. Burnley will look to make life difficult for the opposition. They are likely to sit back and defend. West Ham will need Paqueta to open up goalscoring opportunities here.

Prediction

West Ham United 1-1 Burnley

Both teams are quite evenly matched on current form, and this will be a close contest. They will be desperate for a victory here, and it remains to be seen how the situation develops. This is likely to be a closed contest, and it will be difficult to separate the two teams. They are likely to cancel each other and share the spoils in a draw.