Nuno Espirito Santo did not shy away from the importance of West Ham's meeting with Burnley, and he is determined to see a reaction from his team.
West Ham missed the chance to move closer to safety last weekend, throwing away a 2-0 half-time lead against Chelsea to lose 3-2.
That defeat came at a time when the Hammers had been building momentum, after back-to-back wins over Tottenham and Sunderland, but now they sit six points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
And with Burnley just five points below them, Nuno knows how vital three points on Saturday could be in the fight against relegation.
"There's a lot of football to be played, but this is a very important game," Nuno said.
"This game means a lot to us, especially reacting to what happened with Chelsea.
"We never feel [superior to Burnley] because we know it's always going to be tough. Burnley are a good team, fighting for the same objective as us, and it's their home ground.
"We played them here at London Stadium at the beginning of November, and it was very, very hard. The message of Scott Parker and Kyle Walker at the end of that was that they're going to react, and we have to be ready for that."
Travelling to Turf Moor this weekend pic.twitter.com/wqNu3qACpC
— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 5, 2026
Burnley, meanwhile, have failed to win any of their last 15 matches in the Premier League, picking up just five points on that run.
After a run of three draws against Manchester United, Liverpool and Spurs, Burnley were thrashed 3-0 by fellow promoted side Sunderland on Monday.
Burnley had just five shots in that match, none of which were on target, and Scott Parker says they need to accept criticism if they intend to improve.
"We need to get back to work and reboot," Parker said.
"We've fallen short sometimes this season on quality – but [against Sunderland] we were miles off the pace, and that's unacceptable.
"It's a tough place we find ourselves in. No doubt it's tough for the players too. There'll be fingers pointed at us all, and that's fair."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Burnley – Martin Dubravka
Though he has made the most saves this season (97), Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has also conceded more goals than any other keeper in the Premier League this season (47).
His rate of almost two goals conceded per game (47 in 24) is his highest across a single campaign in the competition.
West Ham – Crysencio Summerville
Crysencio Summerville has scored in each of his last four appearances for West Ham in all competitions, having scored just once in his first 38 for the club.
The last Hammers player to score in five in a row was Jesse Lingard in March/April 2021.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Burnley are winless in their last seven Premier League games against West Ham (D3 L4), having won four of their previous five against them (L1).
West Ham have won 53% of their Premier League games against Burnley (10/19). Among sides they have faced 10+ times in the competition, only against Watford (56%) and Fulham (57%) do they have a higher win rate.
But West Ham have already lost at Sunderland and Leeds this season. They have not lost against all three promoted clubs in a single campaign since 2009-10, which included a 2-1 defeat away to Burnley.
This match remains almost too tight to call for the Opta supercomputer, though, with both sides having their problems this term. Burnley are winless in their last 15 Premier League games (D5 L10). Only once have they ever had a longer run within the same top-flight campaign (17 in 1889-90).
No side have dropped more points from winning positions than West Ham in the Premier League this season (18). Indeed, the Hammers have failed to win a joint league-high seven games when scoring first this season (D3 L4).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Burnley – 39.6%
Draw – 26.6%
West Ham – 33.8%