Vladimir Coufal axed in 3 changes: West Ham confirmed XI v Burnley
David Moyes has made three changes to his West Ham side for this afternoon’s visit of Burnley to the London Stadium in the Premier League.
After Thursday’s stunning 3-0 win away at Lyon in the Europa League, the boss has opted to leave out Alphonse Areola and replace him with regular Premier League keeper Lukasz Fabianski after that magical night in France.
Aaron Cresswell also returns from suspension in Europe to replace Vladimir Coufal, with Ben Johnson switching to right-back with Nikola Vlasic replacing Pablo Fornals.
The Clarets arrive in the capital having sacked manager Sean Dyche on Friday to the shock of many in the football world and that could have put the Hammers’ preparations into disarray.
Burnley still find themselves in a relegation battle and a surprise victory against the Irons would see them go to within one point of safety at the bottom of the Premier League.
West Ham have a golden chance to reignite their top-four chances too though, despite Manchester United’s victory against Norwich after both Arsenal and Tottenham were beaten yesterday by Southampton and Brighton respectively.
Routine
Despite the potential new manager bounce that often strikes for clubs battling for survival, this should be a very routine victory for the Hammers.
Dyche was working miracles at Turf Moor for years to keep the Clarets relatively safe from relegation from the Premier League with little budget to work with.
The decision to sack him is bewildering and something that Moyes and his men must take full advantage of.
The Europa League might be where the main attention is now but they can’t afford to completely neglect their domestic form because they still have every chance of overhauling the stuttering Gunners for a Champions League place.
If they are to do that, then today’s meeting cannot finish as anything other than a West Ham win because European teams don’t lose to clubs like Burnley when it matters.
In other West Ham news, this Iron has bought a new house very far away from the London Stadium to spark exit rumours.
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