West Ham United edged to a 1-0 victory over 10-man Burnley at Upton Park this afternoon.
Michael Duff was sent off for the visitors midway through the first half after bringing down Cheikhou Kouyate inside the box.
Mark Noble stepped up to take the resulting penalty and made no mistake with a composed finish into the bottom corner.
The Hammers were unable to find a second goal, but they held on to win for the first time in five league games.
Find out how the action unfolded below.
Good afternoon everyone! We've reached the final month of the Premier League season and there is still everything to play for at both ends of the table. Here, our coverage will be focusing on the events at Upton Park, as West Ham United play host to a Burnley side in desperate need of points.
The Hammers made a great start to the season and hopes were high that they could mount a challenge for a European spot, but a dip in form since the turn of the year has completely destroyed any ambitions they had of a top-six finish.
It has been a far more disappointing campaign for Burnley, who have four games left to save themselves from relegation. They are five points away from escaping the relegation zone, and if results go against them today, then their fate could be sealed next weekend at Hull City.
Right, let's check out the all-important team news and see which players will be starting when we kick off at Upton Park in just over an hour.
WEST HAM XI: Adrian, Jenkinson, Collins, Burke, Cresswell, Amalfitano, Noble, Kouyate, Nolan, Downing, Valencia
BURNLEY XI: Heaton, Trippier, Shackell, Duff, Mee, Boyd, Arfield, Jones, Taylor, Barnes, Ings
WEST HAM SUBS: Jaaskelainen, Jarvis, Nene, O'Brien, Cole, Song, Oxford
BURNLEY SUBS: Gilks, Wallace, Kightly, Sordell, Reid, Jutkiewicz, Keane
So, that's how our teams will line up this afternoon. West Ham have made one change from the side that played against QPR, as Morgan Amalfitano comes in for Matt Jarvis. It means that youngster Reece Burke keeps his place in the defence, after impressing on his first league start last weekend.
There has also been just one change made by Burnley to their starting lineup, with Ashley Barnes returning from suspension to replace Lukas Jutkiewicz in the attack. He will play up front alongside Danny Ings, but there is no place in the squad for Sam Vokes, who has been struggling with a thigh injury.
Let's get back to our build up to this afternoon's match and take a closer look at each team, starting with the hosts. It had looked like being a very promising season for West Ham and on Christmas Day they were in fourth spot and five points clear of Arsenal.
However, that proved to be as good as it would get for the Hammers, as they ended 2014 with back-to-back defeats against Chelsea and Arsenal and had to wait until midway through January to claim another league win, which was a 3-0 victory against Hull.
Since that win over the Tigers, they have won just one of their previous 12 league games and have slipped down to 11th in the table. Their form has led to speculation that Sam Allardyce will leave the club when his contract expires in the summer, but the manager has insisted that he is preparing for next season as normal.
One of the biggest problems for the Hammers recently has been finding the back of the net and they have scored just three goals in their past seven games. It hasn't helped that player such as Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll have struggled with injury, while Enner Valencia has found the net just four times since his move from Pachuca.
Making the trip to Upton Park this afternoon are a Burnley side in real trouble. They have dropped to the bottom of the table after losing four of their last five games and they realistically need to win all of their remaining fixtures to avoid a quick return to the Championship.
PHOTO: Ashley Barnes' shirt hangs in the Clarets dressing room ahead of kick-off. #ClaretsLIVE pic.twitter.com/UWbFT5E0i1
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) May 2, 2015
There was genuine hope that they could survive after being Manchester City in March, but that has been their only victory in 13 league games. George Boyd's stunning strike in that match is also the last time that they have found the net, with their defeat against Leicester last weekend the fifth straight game in which they have drawn a blank.
That game against Leicester was particularly heartbreaking for Burnley's players and supporters and it may be looked upon as a defining moment in the season of both clubs. All of the action in that game came on the hour mark when Matthew Taylor hit the post for the Clarets with a penalty and immediately Leicester went up the other end and scored to claim all three points.
With three of their last four games away from home, it is a very tricky looking run in for the Clarets. Following today's match, they will face an improving Hull side, before playing to host to mid-table Stoke. Their final game of the season pits them against Aston Villa, who themselves are in real danger of being relegated.
Just a few minutes ago it finished in today's early Premier League kick off between Leicester and Newcastle and it was the Foxes who romped to a 3-0 victory. A double from Leonardo Ulloa and a strike from Wes Morgan helped Nigel Pearson's men to a fifth win in six games and has moved them up to 16th in the table. It is bad news for Burnley though, as the Clarets are now six points away from safety.
West Ham claimed a 3-1 victory when these teams met at Turf Moor back in October. Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia fired the Hammers into a two-goal lead, and although George Boyd pulled a goal back for Burnley, Carlton Cole headed in to seal the points.
© Getty Images
In the overall head to head stats between the teams, West Ham have won 33 of their meetings, which is just two more than the Clarets have managed. However, in the previous 16 games between them, Burnley have been victorious on just two occasions.
PREDICTION: There is so much at stake this afternoon for Burnley, but they just can't seem to buy a win at the moment, let alone score a goal. They will be hoping to take advantage of West Ham's poor form, but I feel that the Hammers will have a bit too much quality for them, so I'm going to go for a 2-0 win for the home side.
With kick off fast approaching, make sure you check out our video preview for today's match if you haven't already!
KICKOFF! We are underway at Upton Park!
CHANCE! Golden opportunity for the for the Hammers to take an early lead, as Cresswell whips a wonderful low ball across the six-yard box, but Valencia can't make any contact and it goes all the way across to safety. The striker really should have got something on the ball, and if he had, his team would be ahead.
Having just missed that big chance, Valencia might have to come off the pitch as he is down and receiving some treatment. He seemed to injure his ankle while challenging Shackell for the ball and it would be a massive blow at such an early stage of the match if he has to go off.
Valencia has come back onto the pitch, so we will have to wait and see whether can shake off that knock or if Cole, who was just warming up on the sidelines, will have to come on and take his place.
It has been a slow start here at Upton Park and neither team have really created too much going forward. The two teams are also struggling to keep hold of the ball and the atmosphere around the crowd is rather subdued.
Burnley are enjoying their best spell in the game at the moment and Ings threatens with a low strike across the box from a tight angle. The ball ended up going harmlessly wide of the far post, but it is a sign of the danger that the striker can pose.
The visitors are getting into some very good positions now and Ings is just inches away from connecting with a fine cross that was swung in from the left by Taylor. Dyche will be encouraged by what he has seen in the past few minutes and his side are starting to get on top.
CHANCE! Once again Taylor whips a superb cross into the box that picks out Ings, but the striker gets his header all wrong and directs the ball just over the bar. He hasn't scored in nine games, but he surely won't get too many better chances to end the drought.
The Clarets are still looking the more likely to score the opening goal this afternoon and they find Taylor again in space down the left. However, the midfielder is unable to deliver another great cross, with his latest ball into the box far too high for Ings and Barnes.
PENALTY TO WEST HAM AND RED CARD TO BURNLEY! Out of nothing, the Hammers are awarded a penalty when Kouyate goes down in the box under a challenge from Duff. It was a definite spot kick, but the defender is then shown a straight red card for apparently denying a goalscoring opportunity, even though there seemed to be adequate cover.
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Burnley (Mark Noble)
Noble makes no mistake with a composed finish into the bottom corner that sends Heaton the wrong way. Burnley now have a mountain to climb and everything really is going against them at the moment.
SAVE! West Ham really should be two goals up, but Heaton has denied them with a stunning save. Valencia is found in the middle by Downing and he swivels on the ball, before firing in a strike that is brilliantly tipped over the bar by the keeper.
SHOT! It seems that it will be only a matter of time until the Hammers grab a second goal and Amalfitano forces Heaton to turn behind his powerful shot after latching onto Nolan's flick.
CHANCE! What a chance for Burnley to grab an equaliser. Barnes finds himself unmarked inside the box and powers in a header from Trippier's corner, but Adrian gets down well to block his effort.
I spoke about the atmosphere lacking slightly earlier on and even since West Ham have taken the lead, it is still extremely quiet at Upton Park. The fans have seen their team struggle in recent months, so it is understandable, but it must be tough for the players.
Burnley are being pegged back right on the edge of their own box, as West Ham look to double their lead before the break. A second goal now would kill off the visitors, who really need to claim all three points to stand any chance of staying up.
YELLOW CARD! Valencia picks up the first booking for West Ham after catching Ings as the two went for a header.
YELLOW CARD! It's another booking for the Hammers, as Noble collides with Arfield. It was a very soft booking, but it has given Burnley a free kick in a very promising position just outside the box.
SHOT! Trippier steps up and curls in the resulting set piece, which has Adrian diving across his goal, before the ball heads narrowly over the bar.
There are going to be a couple of minutes added on to the end of this first half.
HALF-TIME: West Ham 1-0 Burnley
We've reached half time at Upton Park and it's West Ham who are in the lead. Mark Noble's penalty is all that separates the sides, after Cheikhou Kouyate was brought down inside the box by Michael Duff. The Burnley defender was dismissed for that challenge and I'm sure Sean Dyche will have some strong words to say about the decision.
© Getty Images
As you would expect, West Ham have seen plenty of the ball and they have amassed 61% of the possession. They have also had seven shots, compared to five attempts from Burnley, but so far we have seen just the one goal this afternoon.
Right, let's take a look at some of the results from this afternoon's other Premier League matches. Aston Villa are 1-0 up against Everton, which means that Burnley will be eight points adrift at the bottom if those scores stay the same. Their relegation rivals aren't doing too much better, as Sunderland have been pegged back by Southampton, while QPR are losing against Liverpool.
I can tell you that the players have emerged from the dressing rooms and we are now just moments away from the start of the second half!
Burnley take the kick off and get the match back underway!
SUBSTITUTION: The Clarets have made a change at half time, with Keane coming on for Boyd.
SHOT! West Ham almost double their lead in the opening minute of this half, as Jenkinson gets to the byline and drills in a low cross that it met at the front post by Nolan, but he can't quite make clean contact with the ball and under pressure he diverts it wide of the target.
There's a lot more energy among the West Ham players since the break and they are looking dangerous on the attack. There are going to be plenty of opportunities for them to hit Burnley on the counter, with the Clarets looking wide open at the back.
CHANCE! Despite West Ham's dominance, Burnley have certainly had their chances and Ings collects a pass from Trippier before bursting down the right. He then cuts inside and takes it past Cresswell, but from a tight angle he drills his strike into the side netting.
This is another big call from the referee that I think he has got wrong. Ings is brought down just outside the box by Jenkinson, but the referee waves play on. There was a covering defender so the full back wouldn't have been sent off, but Ings certainly looked to be going through on goal.
CHANCE! It's West Ham who come close to scoring as Amalfitano is slipped into the box after some good work from Nolan, but with just the keeper, be bends a strike wide of the far post.
CHANCE! Down the other end of the pitch Burnley come agonizingly close to an equaliser when Taylor sees his shot pushed to safety by Adrian.
SHOT! This game has erupted into life and Nolan sees his weak effort spilled by Heaton, but Valencia can't make clean contact to turn in the rebound and Burnley scramble the ball clear.
YELLOW CARD! Downing is shown a card by the referee for diving inside the box as he went down under a sliding tackle from Mee. There did seem to be little contact, but it is slightly harsh from the referee.
We've just a short delay in the match, while Kouyate receives some treatment following a tackle from Keane. After a short break, he is fine to continue and we are now back underway.
You just get the feeling that if Burnley can avoid conceding another goal before the final 10 minutes, then there is a chance of them snatching something late on. As things stand, they are now eight points away from safety and with just three games left to play after this, their survival chances look bleak.
The pressure from West Ham is relentless at the moment and they are whipping countless deliveries into the box and firing in a strikes that are being desperately blocked by the visitors. It remains to be seen just how much more of this Burnley can take, as the 10 men have put in quite some effort this afternoon.
Jenkinson has whipped in some brilliant crosses today, but on more than one occasion his teammates have not anticipated the delivery. This time he puts one right across the six-yard box, but Valencia was nowhere to be seen.
This has been such a great defensive display from Burnley and once again they block shots from Valencia and Noble. Even if they do end up being relegated this season, they have put in a good account of themselves and they have definitely not been embarrassed.
SUBSTITUTION: West Ham are making their first change of the match, with Nene coming on for Nolan.
SUBSTITUTION: It's also a change for the visitors, as Sordell replaces Barnes.
SUBSTITUTION: Burnley have made their third and final sub of the afternoon, with Wallace coming on for Taylor.
SUBSTITUTION: Another change for West Ham, as Cole comes on for the remaining minutes to take Valencia's spot up front.
CHANCE! Cole almost scores with his first touch as he rises highest to meet a cross from Downing, before placing his header over the top. That's the sort of chance he would expect to score, but he had only been on the pitch for a few seconds.
SHOT! Another heavy surge of West Ham pressure ends up with Cole being set up by Downing's reverse pass, but he drills his effort straight at the keeper, instead of across the goal and towards the far post.
SHOT! Collins gets in on the action when he sees his initial header blocked from a corner, before following up to fire the rebound over the bar. If West Ham do end up conceding, then they will only have themselves to blame after all of these missed chances.
CHANCE! Shackell has probably been the best player on the pitch this afternoon and he gets back on the line to block a thunderous strike from Kouyate that had the keeper beaten and would have ended up in the back of the net.
There are going to be three minutes of stoppage time. Will it be enough for Burnley to score a vital goal?
YELLOW CARD! Mee picks up a late booking for bringing down Downing.
FULL-TIME: West Ham 1-0 Burnley
The final whistle blows and West Ham have held on to take the points this afternoon. They should have made the result a lot safer, but they have managed to end a four-game winless run. As for Burnley, it leaves them bottom of the table and facing relegation if they fail to beat Hull City next weekend.
That's all we've got time for here. I'll be back to bring you analysis and player ratings of today's match, but until then, I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Goodbye!
