Burnley have averaged 1.6 cards per game this season, which increases to 1.8 on the road. I expect to see this number rise over the season as the side gets into more and more important games as the season progresses.

For reference, they averaged 1.78 cards per game in the Championship last season, a league in which they only conceded a record 16 goals all season, smashing the previous record of 30. Their last Premier League campaign saw the Clarets average 1.97 cards per game.

West Ham’s opponents average 1.40 cards this season, but I expect this to rise as the season progresses and Nuno’s counter-attacking system sets in. It is hard to correlate as there are many factors impacting this, particularly players and their pace/ability to win fouls, but Nuno’s Forest side from last season averaged 2.74 cards per game against them in the league.

Time will tell as the season kicks on, but I think West Ham will see an uptick in cards against them in the coming months.

West Ham have averaged 6.0 corner kicks at home this season, putting them 5th in the league for corners taken so far.

They managed seven v Newcastle, six v Brentford, eight v Crystal Palace, two v Tottenham, and seven v Chelsea. Across 2024/25, they averaged 4.58 corners at the London Stadium.

Since their return to the Premier League, Burnley have conceded an average of 6.5 corners per game, with recent counts of six v Arsenal, four v Wolves, five v Leeds, six v Aston Villa, and 10 v Man City.

The visitors average just 36.5% possession this campaign, the lowest in the league by at least 5%. Due to this, they sit in a low block, battering away crosses that get launched into the box, often resulting in corner kicks for their opposition.

I expect West Ham to come flying out of the traps on Saturday as Nuno will be drilling the importance of momentum into his side before kick-off, hopefully resulting in plenty of corners.

Jarrod Bowen has been West Ham’s main man over the last few seasons, scoring 13 league goals in 2024/25 and 16 in 2023/24.

He has featured mainly on the right wing, cutting onto his favoured left foot and testing the goalkeeper. The Englishman averaged 1.14 shots on target last season, a form that he has carried over onto this season, as the winger is averaging 1.09 this campaign.

When you look at the underlying data, Burnley has the worst defensive record in the league. The Clarets have an Expected Goals Conceded (xGC) of 23.13 despite only conceding 19 goals, showing they are conceding plenty of high-quality chances.

The visitors have conceded 8,7,4,7,8,8,4,6 shots on target lately, and you’d like to imagine if West Ham rack up similar, their main man Bowen will have at least one.

After a superb result last weekend against Newcastle, I expect The Hammers to pick up some form under Nuno, starting with Saturday, and Bowen will be the man charging the attack.

Signed in the summer from Southampton, Ugochukwu is a real combative midfielder, committing and drawing plenty of fouls.

The Frenchman commits 1.55 fouls per 90 for the visitors and has an average of 1.55 fouls drawn per 90 this season, a nice increase from his 0.76 per 90 last season with The Saints.

He is predicted to line up in the middle of the pitch against the likes of Lucas Paqueta, who averages 1.83 fouls per 90, Matheus Fernandes, who averages 1.22 fouls per 90, and Freddie Potts, who averages just over 1.00 per 90 minutes played.

It should be a real battle in there between him and Paqueta, each of whom averages over 3 fouls per game. If you add into the equation that this already feels like a big match so early in the season, as both sides look set to fight for survival, you can imagine plenty of fouls from the off.