Newly promoted Burnley have been priced up at 5/2 to finish above West Ham in the 23/24 Premier League season.

Burnley will be one of the most fascinating teams to watch heading into the new campaign, fresh off the back of a Championship campaign that saw them clear the 100-point barrier.

Aided by the midfield duo of Josh Brownhill and Josh Cullen, Vincent Kompany’s Clarets totally dominated possession throughout the season, often exceeding 70% of the ball, even going as high as 80% on one occasion.

For context, Kompany’s old boss Pep Guardiola only exceeded 75% once with Manchester City; Kompany’s Burnley did it five times.

Of course, they’re not going to have their own way quite as often in the Premier League, but against the better part of half of the league – certainly at home – Burnley should feel comfortable sticking to their principles.

They were also the league’s top scorers with 87 goals, but could do with sorting Nathan Tella’s future sooner rather than later.

The Southampton loanee was the Clarets’ top scorer with 17 goals last term, but his future remains uncertain.

As is often the case with newly promoted teams, Burnley are amongst the favourites to go straight back down. Only fellow new boys Luton and Sheffield United are shorter in the betting, though Burnley are odds-against at 13/8.

But is that fair? In the last 10 seasons – with the exception of Norwich, who always seemed content to go back down if it left them in a strong position to come back up – no Championship winner has been relegated at the first time of asking. 

Indeed, many of them have enjoyed comfortable seasons where relegation was never on the cards. 

Fulham (10th), Leeds (9th), Wolves (7th) and Newcastle (10th) all finished in the top half, while Burnley (16th), Bournemouth (16th) and Leicester (14th) before them all survived.

Survival will be the number one priority for Burnley, but from there they can look to re-establish themselves after their previous six-year stint in the top flight.

Burnley can expect to do as they did last season in finishing above their fellow promoted sides, and if they can finish Bournemouth (5/6) and Nottingham Forest (5/6), they’ll almost certainly be playing top flight football again.

The Turf Moor outfit are 5/2 to finish above Europa League winners West Ham; an interesting proposition considering 

On the back of two superb seasons that helped West Ham secure European football, West Ham won the Europa Conference League to secure a return to the Europa League. 

But there are a couple of concerns for Hammers fans. Firstly is how unconvincing they were throughout much of the season, battling relegation for much of the campaign with many fans wanting David Moyes to depart from the club for a second time.

Secondly is the impending departure of captain Declan Rice. Even if the Hammers can command a £100m fee, it will still leave a gaping hole in midfield and it’s imperative West Ham’s recruitment is spot on.

Burnley to finish higher than:

Liam Williams

• Burnley F.C.
• West Ham United F.C.
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