This Saturday, a low in confidence West Ham team will travel down south to play Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium who haven’t been in a good run of form despite getting a well earned 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last Saturday lunch-time.
Team news
Bournemouth – Tyrone Mings will serve a five-game ban starting on Saturday after a stamp on Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Andrew Surman also saw red against United, receiving two yellow cards before half-time. Adam Federici and Callum Wilson will miss the game against the Hammers on Saturday, however, Simon Francis could make a return which is a massive boost for the Cherries who have shown defensive frailties recently.
West Ham – Michail Antonio will return to the West Ham side this weekend after missing the defeat to Chelsea due to suspension.
Winston Reid went off with a leg injury in the game against Chelsea and joined recovery training on Wednesday and will be working hard to be available on Saturday.
Andy Carroll suffered a nasty head injury against the Blues but will be available for selection come Saturday afternoon. Diafra Sakho and Angelo Ogbonna have had positive news about their long-term injuries this week, Sakho returned from a specialist in France and will be back in full team training by April. Ogbonna is progressing well with his knee injury.
Predicted line-ups
Bournemouth – 4-2-3-1 – Boruc; Smith, Cook, Cargill, Daniels; Arter, Wilshere; Fraser, King, Pugh; Afobe.
West Ham – 4-2-3-1 – Randolph; Byram, Fonte, Reid, Cresswell; Kouyate, Obiang; Antonio, Lanzini, Snodgrass; Carroll.
History
The last time the Hammers and the Cherries faced each other was August 21st where West Ham came out 1-0 winners in their first Premier League game at the London Stadium with Michail Antonio bagging the only goal of the game in the 85th minute. West Ham have a good record against Bournemouth, winning five, drawing two and losing just one.
Prediction
Over the last six games, West Ham have been average at best, winning two, drawing two and losing two. However, Bournemouth are currently in very bad form, winning none, drawing twice and losing four out of their last six conceding a staggering 15 goals during that time.
Considering Bournemouth’s rough patch and various absentees with their team, I can see West Ham winning at the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth 0-2 West Ham.
