Burnley host West Ham at Turf Moor on 16 August 2026, the opening game of the EFL Championship season and the first competitive fixture for both clubs since their relegations from the Premier League in 2025/26. Both sides are among the strongest favourites for automatic promotion, which gives this more weight than most season openers and West Ham will know the job does not get easy just because they have stepped down a division.
Nicky Hayen took charge of Burnley on 10 July 2026 following Scott Parker's departure after relegation, while Nuno Espirito Santo has been at West Ham since September 2025 and was kept on to lead the promotion push. The two have not faced each other in meaningful competition, so this is a first proper look at how their approaches match up.
Burnley's pre season was patchy, losing 2-1 to Ajax and drawing 1-1 with Notts County in the Carabao Cup before winning on penalties and they have not clicked under Hayen yet. West Ham looked considerably sharper, going unbeaten through pre season with a 5-0 win at Stevenage and a 0-0 draw against Rangers before beating Portsmouth 3-1 in the Carabao Cup and they arrive as the better prepared side.
Neither club reports major suspensions or injury concerns heading into kick off, though Burnley's summer has been complicated enough by the exits of Maxime Esteve and Jaidon Anthony that new additions like Ugo Raghouber carry extra weight alongside Josh Laurent and Zeki Amdouni in midfield. West Ham have brought in Joel Veltman and Manor Solomon, who may start on the bench, while Keiber Lamadrid carries a minor knock and there is ongoing speculation around El Hadji Malick Diouf.
Hayen's Burnley will likely sit compact, using set pieces and the home crowd as their primary tools, with Hannibal Mejbri and Josh Cullen tasked with controlling the middle and Marcus Flemming among the attacking options. Nuno's West Ham tend to sit deep and counter, with Mavropanos and Kilman at the back and Castellanos adding depth up front. The key battle is Bowen against Burnley's backline: he tends to run in behind and drift inside onto his stronger foot and against a defence still finding its footing under a new manager, that profile is a serious problem.
West Ham have the better record across around 28 meetings since 2003 and the aggregate numbers lean their way, home advantage notwithstanding.
Neither manager has yet played a competitive game at this level, which makes a cagey 90 minutes genuinely possible. West Ham's pre season form and Bowen's ability to pull apart a backline that has not yet settled under Hayen are the reasons to back them, though. West Ham to win 2-1.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
