West Ham will look to continue their recent upturn in form as they travel to the Pirelli Stadium to take on League One strugglers Burton Albion in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday lunchtime.
West Ham missed the chance to go level on points with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, as they conceded in the 96th-minute to draw 1-1 at home to Manchester United.
Nevertheless, the Hammers have now taken 10 points from their past five Premier League outings (W3-D1-L1) to boost their survival hopes, with their only defeat coming at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in a match they led 0-2 – on an evening both of my selections landed.
Nuno’s visitors required extra time when taking on lower league opposition in the previous round, as a Taty Castellanos header saw them overcome London rivals Queens Park Rangers.
Burton Albion have already come through three rounds to reach this stage, with the latest being a 0-5 win away at National League side Boreham Wood.
However, Nigel Clough’s hosts are in the midst of a five-game winless run in the league following their 2-2 draw away at bottom side Port Vale at the weekend, leaving them in 21st position, a point adrift of safety.
How the bookies view it: Hammers favourites
With two divisions separating these two sides, it comes as no surprise that West Ham are favourites to advance, with bet365 pricing them at just 1/6 To Qualify, whilst the win in 90 minutes is 4/11.
Burton are 4/1 underdogs to go through, and a chunky 15/2 to win in regulation time.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Saturday will be the first-ever competitive meeting between these two clubs.
Players to watch: Summerville to strike again?
Crysencio Summerville’s performances in the last few matches are one of the major factors in West Ham’s recent upturn in form.
The ex-Leeds United attacker has scored five goals and provided an assist across his last six appearances for the Hammers – including being involved in both goals against QPR in the previous round – and the 1/1 on offer at bet365 for him to Score or Assist on Saturdays stands out to me.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Burton will be missing the injured Dylan Williams, Julian Larsson, Sebastian Revan and Charlie Webster.
West Ham are still without the suspended Jean-Clair Todibo, whilst Pablo Filipe is a doubt.
Burton Albion: Collins, Godwin-Malife, Vancooten, Hartridge, Lofthouse, Evans, McKiernan, Levan, Krubally, Beesley, Shade
West Ham United: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Disasi, Scarles, Potts, Magassa, Summerville, Fernandes, Bowen, Castellanos
Anything else catch the eye?
A month ago, many may have bookmarked this game as one where there could be a potential shock on the cards, but given their recent form, West Ham should advance through to the next round.
The Hammers have won four and lost just one of their previous six matches in all competitions (W4-D1-L1), scoring 12 goals in the process.
Nuno’s visitors have only kept two clean sheets all season though, so combining a West Ham Win & Over 2.5 Goals appeals to me, which pays 10/11 at Coral/Ladbrokes.
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