Premier League Monday preview: West Ham to keep up top-four charge

The Premier League continues on Monday night with two intriguing clashes which have implications at both ends of the table.

West Brom host Wolves in the earlier kick-off while Champions League hopefuls West Ham travel to Burnley in the late kick-off.

Big Sam searching for a big win

Currently sat second from bottom and nine points adrift from safety, it seems as if West Brom’s fate is already sealed. Mathematically survival is still on the cards but the odds are against them (1/200 to be relegated).

Sam Allardyce’s men will need to secure some huge results in the next few weeks if they are to pull it off. To start, they host Wolves who have also had their struggles this season.

In their last four games, West Brom have only lost to Leicester, taking points from Aston Villa and beating both Chelsea and Southampton. It’s a decent run of form which they’ll be hoping to continue on Monday evening.

However, it’s an uphill battle from here as, after Wolves, West Brom have to face Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham and Leeds in their final games, so a win is essential.

For Wolves, there isn’t a huge amount riding on the game. They are essentially out of touch of the European places and they are safe from the drop.

For manager Nuno Espírito Santo, it will just be about finding the consistency they’ve been lacking this season and making sure they get some results before the end of the campaign. Sat in midtable, it’s been somewhat disappointing for Nuno’s men, so if they could break back into the top 10 by the end of the season it will be a positive finish.

West Brom will go into this clash throwing everything at the opposition, and teams fighting for survival have been known to churn out impressive results. They are 21/10 to walk away with three points while Wolves are 29/20 to spoil the party with a victory.

Hammers eyeing Champions League

One of the teams of the season surely has to be West Ham. Without jinxing their performances, they’ve taken everyone by surprise this term and are currently perched fifth in the Premier League, three points off Chelsea in fourth. They are 9/2 to finish inside the top four and with a solid run of results, there is no reason why they can’t do it.

David Moyes’ men have lost their last two Premier League fixtures (to Chelsea and Newcastle), finishing both of those games with 10 men after receiving red cards.

The Hammers face teams in the bottom half of the table in four of their last five games, so will want to turn that form around as quickly as possible – starting with Burnley on Monday. They are favourites to get the job done at Turf Moor at 23/20.

Sean Dyche’s Burnley, meanwhile, are coming into this game after a sensational four-goal victory over Wolves. They aren’t quite safe yet, being nine points above the relegation zone, so results like that carry a tremendous amount of importance.

They can inch closer to safety by taking points off high-flying West Ham and will be doing their utmost to do so.

Chris Wood, who scored a hat-trick at Molineux is 7/2 to be the first goalscorer and is 23/20 to score anytime. He’ll be a key figure for Dyche’s men, who are 23/10 to take three points off the Hammers.

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