Exclusive: McAvennie predicts West Ham home clashes v Burnley & West Brom
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie predicts West Ham will beat both Burnley and West Brom in their two upcoming home fixtures in the Premier League.
Sean Dyche’s men travel to the London Stadium on Saturday before Sam Allardyce returns to the capital with the Baggies on Tuesday.
Going into the matches against the two relegation-threatened clubs, the Irons sit 10th in the Premier League and unbeaten in three matches.
Six points against the Clarets and the Baggies should see them soar up the table and into the European spots if other results go their way.
McAvennie has some reservations about these two fixtures but seems confident enough to suggest Moyes’ men will win both of them.
“It’s a big one against Sam’s West Brom team and Burnley will be difficult because they’ve just got new owners but they’ve got to win these next two games,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“It will be tight but I’m going to say 2-1 [against Burnley] and 2-0 [against West Brom].”
You should think that West Ham will win these two matches.
Moyes has overseen victories against Wolves, Leicester, Aston Villa and Everton this season and these two teams do not come close to them in terms of quality.
West Ham fans can expect both Burnley and West Brom to sit deep and try to make it as difficult as possible for the Irons to create chances and score but with players who can unlock defences like Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma, the London club should be fine.
Defensively, neither team offer much in the way of an attacking threat.
According to stats by Wyscout, Burnley have the joint-lowest goal tally in the Premier League this term [9] while the Baggies have the third-worst with 11.
West Brom have also fired the fewest shots at goal [134] and had the fewest touches inside the opposition’s penalty box [178].
West Ham’s defence might not have a lot to do in these two matches but they cannot afford to be complacent as Slaven Bilic did win with the Midlands team at the London Stadium in the FA Cup last term while Burnley have won all of their last three meetings with the Hammers.
In other West Ham news, Irons target Boulaye Dia could cost £10million.