Burnley welcome West Ham United to Turf Moor on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in a match of huge importance in the battle to avoid relegation.
Desperate times for Burnley
Fifteen matches without a league win, 11 points from safety and just 14 games remaining. Things are getting desperate for Burnley as they head into a six-pointer with fellow strugglers West Ham.
Monday night's dismal defeat at Sunderland left Scott Parker raging, with the Clarets boss saying they “fell short in terms of a lack of intent in everything we did at times”.
One of Parker's biggest concerns is that it is not just at one end of the pitch that they are struggling, it's at both.
Burnley are now responsible for four of the 12 occasions that a team has failed to register a shot on target in a Premier League game this season.
While Martin Dubravka may have made the most saves in the top flight this campaign with 97, he's also conceded more goals than any other goalkeeper with 47.
The loss at the Stadium of Light means they are now just two defeats short of equalling their longest winless run within the same top-flight season of 17, set way back in 1889-90.
They are yet to find the magic formula of how to bridge the gap between the second tier and the top one. Across 100 Premier League games in 2021-22, 2023-24 and this campaign so far, they have won just 15 games and lost 56. That contrasts with 57 wins and just five defeats in 92 Championship matches across 2022-23 and 2024-25.
Hammers ruing Chelsea defeat
West Ham are still licking their wounds after letting a two-goal lead slip to lose against Chelsea. If they had held on for a win it would have been their fourth on the spin in all competitions and would have put the Hammers just three points from safety.
Instead, it marked the seventh time that they've failed to win after opening the scoring this season (D3, L4), while they've also dropped the joint-most amount of points from winning positions in the top flight.
It was also the 21st consecutive league game in which they have failed to keep a clean sheet, the longest such run in Europe's top five leagues.
One source of comfort to Hammers' fans is their excellent recent record against Burnley that has seen them pick up four wins and three draws in their last seven league encounters.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side will be targeting another fast start at Turf Moor. They have scored eight goals in the opening 15 minutes of league games, while opponents Burnley have let in six goals in the opening 10 minutes – both of which are top-flight highs.
Having already lost to Sunderland and Leeds this season, the east Londoners are aiming to avoid losing to all three promoted clubs in a single campaign for the first time since 2009-10. That included a 2-1 defeat away to Burnley.
Before this game kicks off, all eyes will be on Friday's night's clash between 16th-place Leeds United and 17th-place Nottingham Forest at Elland Road.
