Saturday’s matchup sees two teams in a bit of a rut.
West Ham have not won since September, whilst Burnley are off the back of three straight Premier League defeats.
Saturday’s fixture looks like yet another must-win for both teams, with a point looking like it’ll be unsatisfactory for both sets of fans as both clubs continue to slide down the table.
It will be interesting to how Pellegrini sets up his team on Saturday. Whether we will see a change in formation or whether he tries to counter Burnley’s ruggedness will make for an interesting matchup.
Meanwhile, Dyche will be looking to exploit the weaknesses that Newcastle successfully did last Saturday, utilising pace and runners from the midfield to overwhelm the West Ham defence on the counter.
Here is our combined XI between West Ham and Burnley:
GK - Lukasz Fabianski
Tough one because Pope is also a top keeper. Have to give it Fabianski.
RB - Ryan Fredericks
Just edges out Lowton for me, although Lowton is a decent player.
CB - James Tarkowski
Criminally underrated centre back would love him at West Ham.
CB - Issa Diop
Just edges out Ben Mee on this one, only just though.
LB - Erik Pieters
Having a very solid season so far, Burnley fans hoping he can continue this run.
CDM - Declan Rice
Whilst not in the best run of form, Rice is undoubtedly a top player.
CM - Felipe Anderson
Might be cheating a bit here but as I’ve predicted him in a central role in my starting XI predictions, but it also frees up the LM spot.
CM - Ashley Westwood
Another solid player for Burnley, this was a toss-up between himself and Noble.
RW - Michail Antonio
A monster when he plays and his injury really shows how much West Ham miss him.
LW - Dwight McNeil
I just had to put this player in, and whilst Anderson is probably the better winger he is still a top talent.
ST - Sebastien Haller
Whilst I am a massive Chris Wood fan, Haller’s European exploits puts him above Wood and Barnes here.