West Ham United have a glorious opportunity to secure a third successive Premier League victory against Burnley on Sunday afternoon after falling to a bitter defeat against Freiburg in the Europa League last time out.
David Moyes' side have not been at the races since defeating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium before the new year, but have rekindled their league form in recent weeks to keep pace in the race for continental qualification, and while the Irons were on top against Freiburg, Michael Gregoritsch leapt off the bench to give his side the first-leg advantage.
Recent Premier League wins over Brentford and Everton have moved West Ham back into seventh place – just two points behind Manchester United – but victory must now be clinched against struggling Burnley to confirm their newfound vein of form.
West Ham team news vs Burnley
While the east London side will be confident of securing victory, injuries to Nayef Aguerd and Emerson Palmieri have given Moyes a defensive headache to wrestle with.
That said, the likes of Ben Johnson could fill in for Emerson, while Aguerd has been displaced by Konstantinos Mavropanos in recent weeks anyway, with the latter's pace and energy likely to give him the nod.
Maxwel Cornet remains sidelined, but West Ham are expected to field a strong lineup despite Thursday's looming showdown against Freiburg in London.
Why West Ham must unleash Michail Antonio vs Burnley
Jarrod Bowen has been excellent for West Ham this season and is probably the favourite to win the club's Player of the Year award, having been one of the standout forwards in the Premier League this season.
1
Erling Haaland
18
2
Ollie Watkins
16
3
Mohamed Salah
15
4
Jarrod Bowen
14
4=
Dominic Solanke
14
Principally a right winger, Bowen has excelled up top with Danny Ings flattering to deceive and Michail Antonio spending much of the past several months injured, but the veteran talisman returned in February and has featured in the past three games.
Bowen is just as effective in his natural right-sided position, and this tweak would allow Mohammed Kudus to inject his pace and power from the left side, with Antonio's physicality – the 33-year-old has been described as a "monster" by journalist Paul Brown – perfect for creating holes and allowing the aforementioned wide-men to overlap and cause chaos.
As per FBref, the £85k-per-week Antonio ranks among the top 9% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and the top 11% for successful take-ons per 90, highlighting how he can penetrate the Clarets.
Moreover, the veteran talisman has plundered six goals and two assists across 14 career appearances against Burnley, with his seven-goal record against Watford the only higher tally.
Ultimately, West Ham should have enough in the tank to defeat Burnley, and while focus will inevitably linger on next week's crunch contest against Freiburg, Moyes must unleash Antonio to shuffle the pack while maintaining a sense of strength in the frontline.