West Ham host Burnley in bounce back game? Match Preview

If we take the Cup game out of our memories West Ham are coming off of a character game that saw a ten-man team work incredibly hard to earn a point at Leicester City. The hallmark of that game was a defensive backline that was near perfect, and one that will be called upon again without Mark Noble in the lineup.

Let’s start with some post-Leicester facts: Noble will miss two more games with his red card suspension, the back four seem to be on top of Pellegrini’s high line tactic, and Diangana is quickly settling into life as a Premier League starter.

Now, post-Spurs facts: Chicharito and Antonio shouldn’t be looked at for starting minutes, the team relies on Arnautovic exclusively for offensive creation, Obiang is fit to play, Masuaku is still a defensive liability, and Balbuena is a must-start beside Diop.

Mix in that Declan Rice continues to grow with impressive performances week after week and Robert Snodgrass sets the tone for effort levels and you have a pretty solid idea about who is going to start for West Ham.

One player that has garnered scrutiny yet again from many supporters is Felipe Anderson. Anderson played the opening 45 minutes for West Ham in the Spurs match and was subbed off at the half by design from Pellegrini. West Ham failed to capitalize on their opportunities in the first half and with Anderson in the #10 position many are pointing fingers at Anderson for not igniting enough offense.

This criticism is not only unfair, but it’s hypocritical. Anderson has been bashed in the media and on social media for his lack of defensive responsibility. Whether you believe that criticism just or not Pellegrini made defensive drilling a focus of his training and he showed an uptick in his tracking back in the Leicester match.

In the Spurs match, however, Anderson was moved away from the left wing and forced into a completely different role he hasn’t played in over a month. Anderson is not performing up to the level any Hammers supporter would have expected, but constant criticism and positional shuffling cannot be helping him get settled in a position he can improve in.

With that said, here is my predicted lineup:

Fabianski
Zabaleta – Diop – Balbuena – Masuaku
Obiang – Rice – Snodgrass
Diangana – Arnautovic – Anderson

Now, for the opposition. When I look at this Burnley team, I see goals. Two main reasons for this assessment are that Burnley have shipped nine goals in their past two matches and that Joe Hart is their keeper.

In their two previous matches, the Clarets have lost big to two impressive teams, Manchester City and Chelsea. While big losses are to be expected with any bottom half team lining up against Man City, West Ham proved that Chelsea are a team that can be shut down with physical defending. Regardless of opponents, shipping nine goals in two matches is mentally damaging to a teams defenders and keeper.

The keeper is an interesting figure for Burnley because he is coming off of a poor loan season at West Ham. Upon signing at Burnley and starting the season as their first choice keeper many were singing Hart’s praises for his shot-stopping abilities. Burnley weren’t getting the results they wanted but Hart was seeing an inordinate amount of shots and was doing well to keep his team in a lot of matches.

Since then, Hart’s form has begun to dip as Premier League attackers have figured him out, just shoot to his left! Hart is far from the Manchester City keeper who won the League years ago and can easily be exposed with shots from range and pressure on rebounds. Arnautovic knows this and it factors into his skill set well.

West Ham have a glorious opportunity ahead of them with a potential bounce-back game coming to their own doorstep. Last season, the Burnley match at the London Stadium was the popping off moment for a disastrous season. Pitch invasions were instigated by a terrible performance on the pitch and the stadium almost erupted into a riotous event.

Manuel Pellegrini has a plan that has been set in place. West Ham should win this match by implementing a high line, clogging the midfield, and pressuring their former keeper with a boisterous striker and two tricky wingers. It’s a good match to win for West Ham.