This weekend, West Ham fans face the trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley, and after losing at home to Newcastle last weekend the supporters will be desperate to bounce back with a win before going into the international break, but they’ll have to be very careful against the Clarets.
The Hammers have got plenty of quality attacking players who can be relied upon to win games and deliver magic moments. However, Burnley are the same, and if the Irons want to get through this one with all three points then they’ll have to defend just as well as they attack.
To keep Sean Dyche’s Clarets out, the one man who Manuel Pellegrini will have to plan to stop is the incredible winger, young Dwight McNeil. At the age of just 19-years-old, he’s already one of the best players in Burnley’s ranks, and he has to be watched very carefully.
Looking at the stats, McNeil has got so much to his game. Going forward, he’s got the joint-most assists in the Burnley squad with three, tied with Erik Pieters at the top, and he also tops for dribbles per game with 1.9 and joint third for key passes per game with 1 (WhoScored).
It certainly will not be an easy job keeping the teenager at bay, and whilst he’s got all of the tools to make things happen in the final third and put chances on a plate for the likes of Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood, he’s also fifth for tackles per 90 minutes in Dyche’s squad with 1.2.
Should Manuel Pellegrini be backed or sacked?
Backed!
Sacked!
His ability to defend from the front and get his side onto the front foot by picking out teammates and taking on the opposition is mightily impressive, and if he finds himself in the same position as Allan Saint-Maximin last weekend, going one vs one against Pablo Zabaleta, he could be set for a field day against the veteran full-back.
