Burnley face West Ham in a Battle of the Claret and Blue at Turf Moor this Saturday. The Clarets will once again be hoping to notch up their first win of the season.
The Pre-amble:
The Clarets just before the international break put in an impressive performance in the King Power Stadium against Leicester scoring a late goal from a Wallace free kick to earn a point in a 2-2 draw. It was enough to lift the Clarets off the foot of the table and they are now just above bottom club QPR on goal difference (-7 vs -11) with four points from seven games. Let`s be honest we have only really played badly in one game, the 4-0 tonking at West Brom but we have to start picking up more points especially at home. We also need to quickly register our first win of the season in the top flight in order to boost confidence and belief.
Burnley have an ideal opportunity of achieving that elusive first victory this Saturday with West Ham the visitors to Turf Moor. Sam Allardyce`s men though have shown improved form recently and have risen up the table into 7th spot with 10 points from seven games. They did the Clarets a favour in their last game defeating QPR 2-0 at home before the international break and in their previous home game impressively beat Liverpool 3-1. In terms of their away form they have picked up four points from their three games so far only losing away to Manchester United. They drew 2-2 at Hull and beat Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park.
Burnley Team News:
It is generally good news for Sean Dyche this week on the injury front. A number of our players are now fit enough to come back into contention following the two-week international break. Danny Ings (hamstring), Kieran Trippier (ankle), David Jones (calf and Nathaniel Chalobah (throat) are all available following their recovery from injury. Michael Keane who was substituted at half time with a suspected hamstring injury in the first leg of England`s UEFA Under 21 Championship play-off against Croatia during the international break is also expected to be fit
Former West Ham winger, Matt Taylor though will not feature against his former club. He has had a niggling Achilles injury and now faces a minor operation to fix the problem. Dean Marney (hamstring) and Steven Reid (groin) are also unlikely to feature.
Player to watch: Danny Ings
Ings was struggling to score before his injury and has yet to register his first goal of the season.
Assuming Ings goes straight back into the team following his recovery, all eyes will be on him to start his account.
West Ham Team News:
West Ham midfielder Mark Noble has recovered from a calf injury and was back in training this week. He is expected to feature at Turf Moor.
Ecuador international striker Enner Valencia should also be involved despite his long trip after playing for his country in midweek during the international break.
Guy Demel, Andy Carrol, Joey O`Brien, Cheikhou Kouyate and James Collins though all remain sidelined
Player to watch: Diafra Sakho
Sakho is easily West Ham`s top goal scorer this season so far with five goals to his name. The 24 year old striker signed a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee with West Ham United in August 2014 arriving from Metz. The Senegal international scored 44 times in 114 appearances for the French club. If Diafra Sakho scores against Burnley, he will join Carlton Cole as the only West Ham players to have scored in five successive Premier League matches. Let`s make sure he doesn`t!
Team & Tactics:
Sean Dyche has a number of options following the return of a number of players now fully recovered from injury. One such player is Danny Ings. Will Ings go straight back into the starting eleven? You would think so being such a talisman despite still looking for his first goal of the season. I would expect him to start upfront alongside Lukas Jutkiewicz in 4-4-2 formation. Kieran Trippier looked like he could be out for sometime after injuring his ankle and being stretchered off against the Foxes but the international break came at the right time and he is back in contention and likely to start. David Jones also returns but Dean Marney looks unlikely to feature so the centre midfield pairing could once again involve Scott Arfield giving up his wider role. There are numerous options now especially on the bench but I would suggest that the following line-up could produce the goods:
Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Boyd, Jones, Arfield, Kightly, Ings, Jutkiewicz
Subs (from): Gilks, Keane, Long, Lafferty, Ward, Wallace, Chalobah, Sordell, Barnes
Ref Watch:
Leicester referee, Kevin Friend is in charge of this match. He has not featured in a game involving the Clarets since our dramatic 4:3 home win against Preston North End in September 2010. We were trailing 3-1 until Preston right-back Billy Jones received a second yellow card for time wasting and was sent off. That spurred Chris Iwelumo onto a hat-trick and another goal from Jay Rodriguez ensured a handsome 4-3 comeback. This referee seems to dish out a load of cards but thankfully red ones seem few and far between! In his seven games so far this season, 28 players have picked up yellow cards including seven in his last game in the 2-1 Manchester United victory over Everton at Old Trafford. Not one player though so far has been given his marching orders this season. Last season it was a similar story. In his 31 games only one player picked up a red card with 98 players getting a yellow.
Match Prediction:
We have to win sometime this season and we have as good a chance as any in this clash to pick up 3 points. Burley 2 West Ham 1
Next Match:
Another home game coming up next weekend but this one against Everton will be played on a Sunday due to Sky Sports covering the game live. The fixture on Sunday 26th October will kick-off at 1:30pm
