A lovely attack from West Ham, you can see their passing abilities on full display as they thread the ball around the outside of the box.

It's cut in for Jarrod Bowen but the winger's shot is crowded out by a host of Burnley bodies.

Now Burnley have a corner.

Hannibal puts too much juice on the delivery but this is some start from the hosts. They mean business.

Lee Turnbull
Former EFL midfielder on BBC Radio London

Real pressure from Burnley in this opening five minutes.

It's a real high press from them and the Hammers have to weather this storm. Keep their council and keep their shape, but this is a good start from Burnley.

Another shot for Burnley.

Aaron Ramsey has options to his left but sets his own sights on goal. Wrong call though, sending it wide of the target.

Great start from Burnley!

The ball is fed up the left flank to feed Zian Flemming in the box. He connects well to get the volley but it grazes the top netting.

David Anderson
BBC Sport England at Turf Moor

West Ham sold out their away allocation and their fans in the Barnfield Construction Stand were making all the noise.

The Burnley supporters are subdued by comparison and they are wondering could the Clarets continue their yo-yo status and win promotion back to the Premier League.

It is a very special day for Nicky Hayen and not only was this his first Championship game, it is also the Belgian’s 46th birthday.

All the word from inside Turf Moor is positive about Hayen and the impact he is making as he tries to make Burnley more attacking.

Lots of eyes on this one.

We are under way at Turf Moor in the penultimate game of this opening four days of the 2026-27 Championship season.

David Anderson
BBC Sport England at Turf Moor

With all the noise surrounding West Ham, Burnley are hoping that eases the pressure on them at Turf Moor.

All the talk is about West Ham being favourites for the Championship and they flexed their impressive financial muscle by spending a Championship record sum of £22m on Celtic's Arne Engels.

Engels was signed too late to make his debut at Turf Moor, but the Hammers could still field the talent of skipper Jarrod Bowen, Manor Solomon, Maximilian Kilman and Valentin Castellanos.

Burnley boss Nicky Hayen has barely been in the job five weeks as he tries to turn the Clarets around after last season's dismal campaign and he handed debuts to on-loan Manchester City defender Max Alleyne and French midfielder Ugo Raghouber.

History was against Burnley and they had not won a league game at Turf Moor since beating Leeds on 18 October, 15 matches ago. They have also struggled against West Ham and are winless in their past eight meetings, going back to July 2020.

But they have gone up automatically in their past two Championship campaigns with 100 points or more in 2023 and 2025. In fact, they have only lost five of their last 115 Championship matches.

Just the one change for the Hammers too as winger Manor Solomon, who joined last week from Tottenham, starts in place of Edson Alvarez who drops out of the team altogether.

Three days after signing from Man City, Max Alleyne goes straight into Burnley's starting XI in the only change to the side that played in the Carabao Cup last week.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It is not very often that a club are forced to change their sponsor just as the new season is about to kick off, but that is exactly what has happened to Burnley.

On Friday, the Clarets ripped up their deal with Finotive One, which describes itself as a 'trading ecosystem', just 42 days after it was signed.

While the club have not responded to specific questions about the how and why, it is likely to come at a considerable cost.

Read more on Burnley's sponsorship drama here.

Nicky Hayen is new to English football - though he had had a spell across the Welsh border at Haverfordwest County - and his focus this summer hasn't just been on his players.

He's also been spending time with Burnley fans, discovering what they want to see from their team under the Belgian's reign and he plans on demonstrating what he's learned on the pitch at Turf Moor this afternoon.

"We want to make them proud," Hayen told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"If they can identify themselves with a team that's going for 95 minutes full on the pitch, you never know what the result will be.

"This was really important for me to understand, to feel what their expectations are."

Image source, Shutterstock

West Ham United start their first Championship campaign in 15 years when they kick off the new season at Burnley this afternoon.

But how much can you remember about their last second-tier campaign in 2011-12?

Test your memory and have a go at our quiz.

Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England

Image source, Getty Images

The Irons are the favourites for an instant return to the Premier League, which they achieved in 2011-12, though the English Football League (EFL) can be an unforgiving environment, even for a club boasting the biggest stadium in Championship history.

And with an ownership tug of war playing out behind the scenes, which way will it go for West Ham in the 2026-27 campaign?

Read Ben Ashton's full breakdown of West Ham's upcoming Championship prospects here.

Image source, Getty Images

With their generous parachute payments, it is often expected those who drop out of the Premier League will be the big contenders to shoot straight back up - but that was not the case last season.

Only Ipswich Town returned to the top flight, and while Southampton did make up for a terrible start under boss Will Still, his replacement Tonda Eckert's spying tactics put an end to their hopes of bouncing back.

And then there was Leicester City, who ultimately failed to escape a double relegation just a decade on from lifting the Premier League trophy.

Yes, the Championship is trickier than some might think. Will the three relegated sides - West Ham United, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers - be able to navigate it?

Read the full feature here.

Jo Tessem
Ex-Southampton midfielder on BBC Radio Solent

I think we have been a little spoilt with how tactically good we've been in the past, but today we weren't good enough and we got bullied.

We made mistakes before and after the goals and I think we could have avoided that.

There were a lot of tactics that went wrong.

The second half was better, the system was better and we got players in the right positions.

But the game was lost in the first half, that was were the sloppiness was and Watford were good.

Don't go anywhere because we've got plenty more Championship action to come.

Burnley v West Ham United kicks off in just over 20 minutes.

Derek Payne
Former Watford midfielder on BBC Three Counties Radio

It was backs to the wall in the second half but they showed character and commitment.

It was worrying but somehow they got first contact on most of the balls coming into the box. Both centre halves were fantastic.

Credit to the players and what a morale-boosting win that is on the first day of the season.

It wasn't perfect and it wasn't always going to be on the first day of the season and there was a lot of noise around this game and how they'd approach the season, but they've got through it, so, credit to the manager.

Image source, PA Media

Watford survive an onslaught from Southampton to take victory at Vicarage Road.

Cyle Larin was given a clear cut chance and took it to put the Saints back in the game.

It got the visitors going alongside some positive changes from boss Tonda Eckert but Watford were as resolute in defending this half as they were in attack in the first.

If this is what's to come from Alessio Dionisi's reign at Watford, this might be a manager that sticks around at Vicarage Road.