West Ham United enter the final month of the 2020/21 Premier League season with a potential top-six finish still in their own hands.
The Hammers will travel to Burnley for their 34th of 38 top-flight fixtures on Monday evening at 8.15pm, by which time they will know how rivals Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Everton have got on in their respective fixtures.
The Irons head to Turf Moor seeking to bounce back after suffering consecutive Premier League defeats for just the second time this season, 3-2 at Newcastle United and 1-0 at home to Chelsea, and looking to complete their sixth 'double' of the campaign, having beaten Burnley 1-0 at London Stadium in January.
Ongoing COVID restrictions mean Monday's game will be played without supporters present. However, the match will be shown live in the UK by Sky Sports and across the world by the Premier League’s international broadcast partners, meaning our fans will be able to follow the action, safely, from home.
Supporters will also be able to follow the game here on whufc.com and on our official App, but our social media platforms will be silent as we support the football-wide boycott in the fight against online discriminatory abuse.
Team news
West Ham United manager David Moyes was confirming nothing in his pre-match press conference on Friday. However, Michail Antonio (hamstring), Aaron Cresswell (leg), Arthur Masuaku (knee) and Declan Rice (knee) are all edging closer to returning to action.
Centre-backs Craig Dawson and Fabián Balbuena are also available after a one-match ban and rescinded red card respectively.
The opposition – Burnley
Burnley moved up to 14th in the Premier League table after thrashing Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 at Molineux last weekend - their highest position since the opening weekend of the season.
But while the Clarets' 2020/21 campaign has been something of a struggle, the club's future will make for intriguing viewing.
In January, Burnley was taken over by US consortium ALK Capital, led by new chairman Alan Pace, ending the stewardship of long-time owner and local businessman Mike Garlick.
It remains to be seen if funds will be made available for manager Sean Dyche to spend in the summer, but now it appears Burnley will be a Premier League club for a sixth consecutive season, the purse strings may be loosened.
Whatever happens, the Clarets will also want to keep hold of their best players, including ten-goal striker Chris Wood, who bagged a hat-trick at Wolves, centre-backs James Tarkowski and Ben Mee, England goalkeeper Nick Pope and home-grown winger Dwight McNeil.
How will they play?
Burnley’s playing style is no mystery to anyone. The Clarets employ a rigid 4-4-2 formation under Sean Dyche and try to get the ball forward to their two big, strong, physical centre-forwards as often as possible.
No team plays more long balls or completes less of its passes in the Premier League than Burnley. Historically, Dyche’s side has turned that direct style into goals from both open play and resulting set pieces, but the Clarets have scored just 30 goals in their 33 matches.
Under the former Chesterfield defender, Burnley have also traditionally had a strong defensive record, and Monday's hosts have kept a creditable ten clean sheets this season.
Previous meetings
West Ham United and Burnley meet in the Premier League for the 14th time on Monday evening.
The Hammers have won seven of the previous 13 fixtures between the two clubs, with the Clarets winning five and just one draw.
Both teams have scored 19 goals in those 13 matches, while Burnley have kept four clean sheets to West Ham's three.
Sean Dyche’s men did the Premier League double over West Ham last season, winning 3-0 at Turf Moor in November 2019 and 1-0 at London Stadium in July, but the Hammers can complete their own double this term after winning 1-0 in east London in January this year.
West Ham’s biggest Premier League win over Burnley was back on 28 November 2009, when Gianfranco Zola’s side secured a 5-3 win at the Boleyn Ground, while the Hammers also won 3-1 at Turf Moor in October 2014 and 4-2 at London Stadium in November 2018.
David Moyes has faced Burnley on ten occasions in his long managerial career, winning three , drawing one and losing six. West Ham's win in January marked his first managerial victory over Dyche.
By the numbers
10 Amazingly, ten West Ham United goals in a row against Burnley between February 1964 and April 1966 were scored by five different players whose surnames began with the letter ‘B’! Johnny Byrne got the streak underway by scoring the Hammers’ second and third goals in the 3-2 FA Cup sixth-round win over the Clarets at the Boleyn Ground on 29 February 1964. The England forward then scored in a 3-1 First Division defeat at Turf Moor three days later, before adding another goal when he added to Ronnie Boyce’s strike in a 3-2 top-flight defeat at Turf Moor in September 1963, and another alongside goals from Boyce and John Bond in a 3-2 win at the Boleyn Ground in January 1965. Martin Britt became the fourth ‘B’ to score when he got the consolation in a 3-1 First Division loss in Lancashire in November 1965, before winger Peter Brabrook became the fifth with West Ham’s goal in a 1-1 draw in Upton Park on 2 April 1966.
5 West Ham United’s biggest-ever win over Burnley occurred on 26 August 1968, when Trevor Brooking and Geoff Hurst each scored twice and Martin Peters got the other goal in a 5-0 First Division victory at the Boleyn Ground. The game also marked the fifth consecutive game against Burnley in which Peters had scored. The FIFA World Cup winner had previously netted twice in a 3-2 home win in March 1967, once each in a 4-2 home win and 3-3 away draw in August 1967 and twice more in a 3-1 FA Cup third-round win at Turf Moor in January 1968! In all, the Hammers have scored five goals in a single game against Burnley on three occasions.
11 Sir Geoff Hurst has scored more goals against Burnley than any other West Ham United player in the Club’s history. Hurst faced the Clarets on 18 occasions and scored eleven goals, the first of which came in a 1-1 First Division draw at the Boleyn Ground on 22 October 1962 and the last three of which were a hat-trick netted in a 3-1 top-flight win in Upton Park on 3 October 1970.
2017 Declan Rice (pictured) made his West Ham United debut as a late substitute in a 2-1 Premier League win over Burnley at Turf Moor on 21 May 2017. Then aged 18 years and 127 days, Rice replaced Edimilson Fernandes in the first minute of added time, becoming the 15th of the 16 players to make their Hammers bow against the Clarets. The other 15 were Herman Conway and Richard Walker, Bill Roberts, Peter Brabrook, Trevor Brooking, Roger Cross, Jimmy Lindsay, Johnny Ayris, Keith Coleman, Benni McCarthy, Mido, Ilan, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Pelly Ruddock and Xande Silva.
1983 West Ham United’s 1964 FA Cup-winning right-back John Bond was appointed as Burnley manager in June 1983, becoming the first and only former Hammer to manage the Clarets, 19 years after helping the Irons defeat Burnley on their way to Wembley. Burnley had been relegated to the Third Division but, after leading the Lancashire club to 12th place, he departed in August 1984.
Match officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes
Born in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester in October 1978, Anthony Taylor has been a member of the Select Group of Referees since 2010.
Taylor started refereeing in the Northern Premier League from 2002 to 2004 before quickly working his way up through the National League and EFL to reach the Premier League in February 2010.
He refereed the EFL Cup final between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium in 2015 – the same year he was promoted to the FIFA List.
He later took charge of the 2015 FA Community Shield, 2017 and 2020 FA Cup finals between Arsenal and Chelsea and the 2018 Championship Play-Off final between Fulham and Aston Villa.
The 42-year-old will officiate West Ham United for the second time this season, having previously refereed the 1-1 draw with Manchester City at London Stadium in October.
In all, Taylor has taken charge of West Ham fixtures on 27 occasions since May 2011.