West Ham vs. Burnley
Venue: London Stadium
Kick off: 4PM
West Ham United play host to Burnley this afternoon looking to extend their unbeaten streak in the Premier League to four matches.
While the Hammers currently occupy 10th position, the Clarets have remained in 16th spot after losing two of their last three fixtures.
With Sebastien Haller being sold to Ajax, there is concern among the West Ham fanbase that they will be left short on attacking options during the second half of the campaign.
However, on the back of a four-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and the imminent involvement of young forward Ademipo Odubeko, Hammers supporters should still be optimistic regarding their future.
Their improvement during David Moyes’s second spell in charge has inevitably raised expectation levels at the London Stadium, particularly with the club just six points behind third-placed Manchester City.
Moyes will recognise that he requires more in the final third for the club to remain in the top 10, but he will be delighted with three successive clean sheets from away games against Southampton, Everton and Stockport County.
While collecting just 12 points from eight home games has prevented the club from progressing further up the table, overcoming an improving Burnley outfit will keep West Ham on an upward trajectory.
Despite their recent blips versus Leeds United and Manchester United, the Clarets make the trip to the capital as a team very much on the up under Sean Dyche.
Those setbacks came by a 1-0 scoreline, with the 1-0 triumph over Sheffield United sandwiched in between keeping the club out of any immediate trouble.
Although Burnley only sit four points clear of the drop zone, their recent performances have left few people regarding the North-West side as genuine candidates for relegation.
Dyche will want to strengthen his threadbare squad during the January window, but any new arrivals are unlikely to dislodge any of the familiar faces in the first XI.
West Ham possible XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals, Antonio.
Burnley possible XI: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Brady, Brownhill, Westwood, McNeil, Barnes, Wood.