West Ham head to Turf Moor in a must-win fixture as they continue their hunt for European football next season

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Burnley made light work of Wolves last time out but West Ham will head to Turf Moor knowing this is a must-win for their Champions League aspirations.

Sean Dyche’s side were in imperious form at Molineux with a Chris Wood first-half hat-trick bringing three of the four goals to reinvigorate life in their season following three successive defeats.

Whilst the Clarets are well clear of the relegation zone with just four matches remaining, they will want to make that a mathematical security as soon as possible and Monday night’s game sees a good chance to make that happen.

Robbie Brady and Kevin Long remain long-term absentees for the Lancashire outfit, but Ashley Barnes will be pushing for more minutes as he stepped up his recovery from injury with a full week of training.

As for the visitors, Monday’s fixture is vital in their bid for European football next season.

A win will see them take back into fifth spot but more importantly, they will be keeping tabs on Chelsea in the remaining Champions League spot as David Moyes looks to cap off a sensational campaign in the promised land.

West Ham have not confirmed anything when it comes to the recovery of injured players, however, Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, Arthur Masuaku and Declan Rice have all stepped up their fitness levels as they edge closer to a return to action.

They can also call upon Craig Dawson and Fabian Balbuena after Dawson served his one-match suspension and Balbeuna’s initial suspension was lifted upon review.

Moyes’ side will be on a low heading to Turf Moor after losing a massive match at home to Chelsea which scuppered their chance to draw level on points with Thomas Tuchel’s team.

A defeat away at Newcastle before that has proved a dent in the road in what has been a phenomenal campaign for the Hammers with their last two games seeing them go down to 10 men.

Worryingly for the visitors, is their concession of 11 goals in five games which, when heading to a venue like Turf Moor against a compact Burnley defence, makes things difficult if they are shipping goals so freely.

On the other hand, they have also scored 11 goals in five games so as much as they have been shipping more than they would like, they have worked well to keep up with the opposition in the scoring stakes to make things interesting.

It poses an intriguing contest but if West Ham have any aspirations of a Champions League campaign next season then this will be deemed a must-win with only 12 points up for grabs at the end of this one.

Sean Dyche will want to see a strong end to Burnley’s campaign as they go into the summer under new ownership for the first time, however, the striking power of the Hammers is likely to prove a step too far this time around.

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