Paul Ince believes that West Ham United will endure a difficult afternoon when they travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley this weekend.
The ex-West Ham midfielder has predicted Slaven Bilic’s side to pick up a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Before the international break, the Hammers managed to secure only their second victory in the league with a 1-0 win over Swansea City thanks to a last-gasp winner from striker Diafra Sakho.
The East London club have struggled on the road this season, losing three of their four opening away matches in the top-flight and conceding ten goals in the process.
Writing in his column for the Express, former England international Ince is convinced that the Hammers will continue their poor run away from home and he is not expecting great things in this weekend’s encounter.
“I can’t see there being many goals in this one, and in fact I can’t see it being much of a thriller at all,” he wrote.
“That being said, we all know how tough Burnley can be on their own pitch, so I don’t think they’ll roll over for West Ham.
“A 1-1 draw seems right to me.”
OPINION
It is possible that the international break came at the wrong time for the Hammers in terms of momentum. Beating the Swans was a massive result not just for the team but also manager Bilic who has been under pressure due to the club’s poor start to the campaign. The Croatian would have surely preferred to have this Burnley match straight after the victory over Swansea in order to go into the game with bags of confidence. This is not going to be an easy match for the Hammers as Sean Dyche’s team have enjoyed a remarkable start to the Premier League this season, beating Everton and Chelsea away from home whilst earning a point against Tottenham. Taking all of this into consideration, we agree with Ince’s prediction for this weekend’s clash and we also feel that it could be a big point in the long-run for the Hammers.