Two Premier League teams bidding to bounce back from midweek defeats meet at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon as West Ham United play host to Bournemouth.
The Cherries rescued a point in a 1-1 draw with the Hammers in the reverse fixture at the Vitality Stadium in December, with Enes Unal scoring a stunning 90th-minute free kick to cancel out Lucas Paqueta‘s 87th-minute penalty.
Match preview
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After failing to win either of their two Premier League fixtures in March – losing 1-0 to Newcastle before drawing 1-1 with Everton – West Ham’s first game following the international break ended in defeat as they were beaten 1-0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Tuesday night.
A deflected first-half strike from Jorgen Strand Larsen condemned the Hammers to their 14th league defeat of the season and they have now failed to score in 40% of their PL games under head coach Graham Potter (four out of 10), compared to 20% under former boss Julen Lopetegui (four out of 20).
While Potter has acknowledged that “some things have gone in the right direction” since his arrival at West Ham, he ultimately left Molineux frustrated and has admitted that both he and his players “have to do better” if they wish to end the season strongly and climb from their current position of 16th in the Premier League table.
West Ham currently sit 10 points behind the top 10 and three of their next four Premier League fixtures are against current top-half teams including Saturday’s opponents Bournemouth, who have failed to win any of their last seven league meetings with the Hammers (L3 D4), drawing each of their last three by a 1-1 scoreline.
However, West Ham have lost three of their last four home Premier League games, failing to score in each defeat. The Hammers have in fact failed to score in six home league matches this term, which is their most since 2018-19 (six) and just two behind their unwanted record of eight blanks in 2008-09.
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Bournemouth enjoyed a 12-game unbeaten run across all competitions between the end of November and end of January, but their form has since taken a nosedive as Andoni Iraola‘s men have won only three of their 10 games, losing each of their last three on home soil by a 2-1 scoreline.
Just three days after being knocked out of the FA Cup quarter-finals by Manchester City, the Cherries suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened Ipswich Town on Wednesday night. Evanilson‘s second-half strike proved inconsequential as earlier goals from Nathan Broadhead and Liam Delap condemned the hosts to their 10th league loss of the campaign.
Bournemouth remain in contention to secure European football for the first time in their history, but their hopes of finishing in the top five have suffered a blow as they now sit 10th in the table and six points behind Newcastle United in fifth who have a game in hand.
After playing four of their last five games on home soil, Bournemouth will welcome a trip away from the Vitality Stadium as they have accumulated 23 Premier League away points this season, their most in a top-flight campaign, while their 30 goals scored also represents their most on the road.
The Cherries travel to the London Stadium this weekend having never kept a clean sheet in their seven Premier League away trips to West Ham (W2 D2 L3), but they have avoided defeat in all four games in which they have found the net themselves (W2 D2).
Team News
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West Ham are still having to cope without injured duo Michail Antonio (leg) and Crysencio Summerville (thigh), while Mohammed Kudus is a minor doubt after missing the midweek defeat due to a fitness issue.
Potter may consider shaking up his attack and handing Niclas Fullkrug a start at the expense of out-of-sorts Brighton loanee Evan Ferguson, while Lucas Paqueta could move pushed further forward, and that could result in 19-year-old Luis Guilherme – who made his full PL debut against Wolves – losing his starting spot.
Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez will both be hoping to force their way back into the first XI, while Jean-Clair Todibo could be recalled to start at centre-back at the expense of Konstantinos Mavropanos.
As for Bournemouth, Enes Unal (knee), Marcus Tavernier (ankle) and Luis Sinisterra (hamstring) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Justin Kluivert (unspecified) and Julian Araujo (thigh) are both doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
The Cherries will have their fingers crossed for Kluivert to be available; the Dutchman has directly been involved in 14 goals in as many PL away games this season (10 goals, four assists), the joint most by a Bournemouth player in a top-flight season along with former striker Callum Wilson in 2018-19 (nine goals, five assists).
The potential absence of Kluivert could see Alex Scott retain his place in the number 10 role behind striker Evanilson, while Antoine Semenyo has failed to score in each of his last eight appearances for Bournemouth, but he is expected to continue on the left wing.
Tyler Adams could be recalled to partner Ryan Christie in centre-midfield if Iraola opts to use Lewis Cook at right-back ahead of Adam Smith, who was taken off at half time against Ipswich, while Marcos Senesi is fit and available to compete with Illia Zabarnyi and in-demand Dean Huijsen for a start at centre-back.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell; Wan-Bissaka, Alvarez, Soucek, Scarles; Paqueta, Bowen; Fullkrug
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Arrizabalaga; Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Christie, Adams; Brooks, Scott, Semenyo; Evanilson
We say: West Ham United 1-2 Bournemouth
Scoring the opening goal could be crucial in this fixture for West Ham as they have won all five of their Premier League games at the London Stadium when they have scored first, compared to eight defeats in nine matches when conceding the opener (D1 L8).
There has been little to separate these two teams in recent meetings and another tight contest could be in store, but considering that Bournemouth have more to play for heading down the home straight, we are backing the Cherries to come out on top by a slender margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
