Under Sam Allardyce our cup form has been terrible, so it almost feels as if we’re over achieving this season as we prepare for a fourth round Capital One Cup tie with Burnley.
But, to be fair to Big Sam, we had other priorities like promotion and then Premier League consolidation to worry about ahead of a dream date at Wembley.
But this year a cup run has been promised and, should be overcome Burnley tonight then we’ll only we three games from Wembley.
That said, it’s overcoming Burnley that’s going to be a tough ask. The Clarets have been in free-scoring form in the Championship and are currently topping the division after beating QPR at the weekend.
Having only had 48 hours rest from our 0-0 draw at Swansea, it’s likely that Allardyce will ring the changes for the game at Turf Moor. The likes of George McCartney, Adrian, Leo Chambers, Carlton Cole and Danny Potts are all expected to feature from the off, while it remains to be seen whether we’ll see Ravel Morrison.
The injury to Ricardo Vaz Te on Sunday will have messed up Sam’s preparations for this game, as he probably would have started up front, which leaves Cole or even Mladen Petric up top.
But with a number of players currently out on loan, Allardyce will still have a relatively strong squad to pick from. Jack Collison is back from his loan spell at Bournemouth and he’ll be in contention to start, as is Matty Taylor who has been restricted to appearances off the bench this season.
Burnley’s main threat is striker Danny Ings, who already has 13 goals to his name this season. If we can keep him quiet then we shouldn’t have much of a problem, but if we give him a sniff at goal he’ll punish us.
Our away form has been fantastic so far this season, and it finally looks like Big Sam has cracked the art of playing away from the Boleyn Ground. If he can implement that sort approach and mentality in this one then we can look forward to being in the hat for the quarter-finals.
Verdict: A sloppy win. Que sera, sera?
Team News:
Burnley (1st in Championship)
David Jones picked up a fifth yellow card at the weekend and will sit this one out as a result.
Both Scott Arfield and Dean Marney face late fitness tests.
West Ham United (15th in Premier League)
Ricardo Vaz Te suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Hammers draw with Swansea, paving the way for Carlton Cole to make his second full-debut for the club.
Andy Carroll and Alou Diarra are the club’s only two long-term absentees, while Matty Taylor, George McCartney and Leo Chambers are all in contention to start.
Last five meetings:
| Date | Competition | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Mar 2012 | Championship | Turf Moor | D 2-2 |
| 3 Dec 2011 | Championship | Boleyn Ground | L 2-1 |
| 21 Feb 2011 | FA Cup 5th Round | Boleyn Ground | W 5-1 |
| 6 Feb 2010 | Premier League | Turf Moor | L 2-1 |
| 28 Nov 2009 | Premier League | Boleyn Ground | W 5-3 |
Match in Numbers:
2 – Burnley average exactly two goals per game from their 16 matches this season.
0 – Burnley have never beaten West Ham in a cup competition.
13 – West Ham have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 13 away matches in this competition.
4 – West Ham’s last five away games have produced just four goals.
31 – These sides have beaten each other 31 times each in all competitions.
9 – Burnley have kept nine clean sheets in all competitions so far this season.
4 – West Ham have only ever won four times at Burnley , drawing 10 and losing the other 23.
5 – The Hammers have scored five goals in their last two Capital One Cup fixtures.
50 – If they play, both Guy Demel and Jussi Jaaskelainen will make their 50th first-team appearances for the Hammers.
Head-to-Head (all competitions):
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | GD +/- | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 37 | 18 | 33 | 151 | 149 | +2 | 42.05% |
