West Ham United vs. Burnley Prediction, 7/8/20
A three-game unbeaten run takes 10th-placed Burnley to a road game against 16th-placed West Ham United, who are still battling for Premier League survival. Kick-off - at 13:00 PM ET on Wednesday, July 8.
Hammers Split Points With Newcastle
West Ham United went consecutive games without a defeat in the Premier League for the first time since September 2019 after following up last Wednesday’s shock 3-2 home victory against Chelsea with a 2-2 road draw versus Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Sunday. Despite controlling the ball just 43% of the time, the Hammers outshot the hosts 17-11 and took the lead twice through Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek, only for the Magpies to equalize on each occasion. West Ham are W2 D1 L3 in their last six EPL matches and sit 16th in the standings (W8 D7 L18), four points above the relegation zone.
French striker Sebastien Haller leads the Hammers with seven EPL goals, but is yet to recover from a hip injury. Goalie Lukasz Fabianski, meanwhile, sits 18th in the Premier League with 59 saves. He has recorded four clean sheets in 20 contests this season and gives up a goal every 56 minutes of play. West Ham has scored the 10th highest quantity of goals during the ongoing campaign (40) while taking the 15th highest amount of shots per game (10.5). The team is 4th from the bottom in ball possession (44.8%) and 15th in passing accuracy (75.8%).
Burnley Draw With Sheffield United
Burnley continued to defy expectations after ending a two-game winning streak with a 1-1 draw against in-form Sheffield United at Turf Moor on Sunday. Finally able to name nine substitutes for the first time since the Premier League restart, the Clarets opened the scoring with two minutes remaining in the first half through James Tarkowski, only for Dwight McNeil to waste a superb chance to make it 2-0 at the end of the game, just minutes before the visitors tied the proceedings at 1-1. Burnley sit 10th in the league (W13 D7 L13), trailing the top-seven by three points.
New Zealand striker Chris Wood leads the Clarets with 11 Premier League goals this season. Englishman Nick Pope, meanwhile, occupies the 7th place in the league’s goalkeeper chart, having turned away 100 shots during the current campaign. He has picked up a league-high 13 clean sheets in 33 games this year and allows a goal every 65 minutes on average. Burnley have scored the 12th highest number of goals this season (37) while taking the 3rd lowest quantity of shots per game (9.9). The team is 2nd from the bottom in ball possession (43.3%) and the absolute worst in passing accuracy (69.1%).
Prediction
Burnley have been an against-the-odds proposition in each of their six Premier League seasons and are currently showing the most surprising results out of all teams in England's top-flight. Despite dealing with numerous injury problems and having a depleted squad due to expiring contracts, the Clarets have somehow managed to lose just one of their last 11 league matches (W6 D4 L1) They are completely safe from relegation and are actually eying a top-seven finish. In addition, Burnley have already beaten West Ham United in three of their previous four EPL encounters (W3 L1) and will be a tough opponent to a struggling Hammers side, still battling for Premier League survival.
Best bet:
Burnley Double Chance (Win or Draw) (-140)