Hammers boss David Moyes looks set to make four West Ham changes for Burnley as duo get big chance to impress.
The Hammers go into Sunday’s game on a high after the epic 3-0 Europa League win over Lyon on Thursday night.
he memorable victory sealed a 4-1 aggregate triumph for West Ham and a place in the Europa semi-finals against Eintracht Frankfurt.
David Moyes made clear after West Ham’s Lyon win that all focus will now turn to another hugely important game back in the Premier League against Burnley at the London Stadium.
And there is utter shock after Burnley sacked manager Dyche on the eve of the trip to West Ham.
The former Millwall man was the longest serving manager in the Premier League but has been surprisingly sacked after 10 years in charge.
Burnley Under 23s coach Mike Jackson and academy director Paul Jenkins will take charge of the relegation-threatened Clarets at West Ham.
It will be interesting to see whether the decision will spark a reaction against the Hammers.
West Ham and Burnley are desperate for the points for very different reasons. The Hammers are looking to consolidate their place in the European spots while Burnley are 18th and scrapping for survival.
Results elsewhere this weekend mean that West Ham will go back up to fifth in the table with a win over Burnley, just three points off bitter rivals Spurs in fourth place.
Predicted: David Moyes to make four West Ham changes for Burnley as duo get big chance
West Ham have not always performed well after European matches, though, as recent defeats to Tottenham and Brentford have proved.
So Moyes will look to use his squad wisely given the quick turnaround from Thursday and that huge semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt now on the horizon.
In normal circumstances Moyes would probably only make one change for this game in swapping Alphonse Areola out for number one Lukasz Fabianski.
But that particular change could well be followed by another three or four as Moyes looks to freshen the side up for a stern test against a physical Burnley side with plenty to play for.
The Scot will also be aware he needs the entire West Ham squad to be on their toes and have a certain level of match fitness in case they are needed in some huge games during the run in.
The second change will likely see Aaron Cresswell come back in for Ben Johnson who may move to right-back with Vladimir Coufal rested.
Coufal was brilliant against Lyon. But having just come back from a hernia operation he expended a lot of energy and Moyes will not want to push him too far.
Johnson will either shift across or Ryan Fredericks may even come in to give both Johnson and Coufal more recovery time. So there will either be one change or two there depending on how Moyes plays it.
Two additional changes in midfield could see Moyes make at least four and as many as five West Ham changes in total for Burnley as duo get a big chance.
Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini are absolutely key for West Ham’s hopes of success in Europe.
Like Coufal, both – and particularly Fornals – expended a lot of energy in France.
So in order to keep things fresh Moyes could look to bring Said Benrahma and Nikola Vlasic into the starting XI in their place.
Vlasic looked reasonably sharp as a sub against Brentford and both he and Benrahma should have more than enough quality to trouble Burnley.
Predicted West Ham starting XI to face Burnley:
Fabianski, Fredericks (or Johnson), Diop, Dawson, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Vlasic, Benrahma, Bowen, Antonio.
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