Burnley Match Preview
West Ham United have the chance to achieve their first double of the season when newly-promoted Burnley arrive in East London this afternoon.
Just like Everton eight days ago, the Hammers come up against a side who are still looking for their first win of 2024 and the hosts will be hoping that is still the case when the final whistle is blown here.
The encounter with Vincent Kompany’s side is the first of three in Stratford in the next week with the second-leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tie against SC Freiburg to come on Thursday and then the visit of Aston Villa three days later.
Last weekend’s victory at Goodison Park meant that the Irons have surpassed the 40 point mark. Not only that, they have also notched up more top-flight wins than in the entirety of the 2022/23 season. Here’s hoping that they can beat the Clarets just as they did back on November 25 and get another one here.
Although the East Londoners played their last league match before Kompany’s men, the visitors have had more time to prepare for this game, due to West Ham’s European excursions.
Emerson Palmieri was substituted during the Freiburg clash after sustaining a groin injury. This means that he will have to be assessed before a decision is made on his involvement. If he doesn’t make it, then either Angelo Ogbonna, Konstantinos Mavropanos, or Aaron Cresswell will take the defender’s place. Alphonse Areola is once again expected to swap places with Łukasz Fabiański in goal. Michail Antonio has only started one game since his return from injury and will be hoping to start here.
The match is a 2pm kick-off and the referee is Darren England.