Burnley have not managed to catch 18th-placed West Ham United; instead they are now close to being caught by Wolverhampton Wanderers. They now face Bournemouth, who have not lost in the Premier League since the beginning of January.
Burnley
At best, Burnley have put together runs of two or three league matches without defeat, and even those almost never included a win. Only Crystal Palace contrived to waste a two-goal lead within half an hour – that remains their only real success in the Premier League since the beginning of November. The side have now gone 11 league matches without a clean sheet, and in eight of those they have conceded at least twice. How can they hope to stay up with such figures?
Bournemouth
In November and December, Bournemouth also looked like a side that had lost its way, going 11 league matches without a win, but the start of the season – an eight-match unbeaten run yielding 18 points – showed the potential of Andoni Iraola's side. They managed to come back to life after the major blow of losing Antoine Semenyo. He delivered their first victory (3:2 against Tottenham Hotspur) after two bleak months and sparked such momentum that they have now gone nine league matches without defeat.
Burnley vs Bournemouth Prediction
Only in away matches at West Ham United (matchday 27) and Brentford (matchday 29) did Bournemouth fail to score. They are very dependent on momentum, so it is difficult to knock them off any trend. The visitors are also on a three-match unbeaten run in head-to-head meetings, all of them with the under 3.5 goals. We suggest backing the same outcome here.