Bournemouth vs West Ham – Analysis, Prediction, Team News

As part of our weekend Premier League predictions, we take a look at West Ham’s trip to Bournemouth. Both sides are in good form and appear to be better than the sides below  – will this be competitive? Read on with our Bournemouth vs West Ham prediction.

Bournemouth vs West Ham Match Preview

With three wins in their last four Premier League matches, Bournemouth are confounding the critics this season thus far and have a strong chance of avoiding relegation this season. This turn of events is in strong contrast to their pre-World Cup form, during which they appeared to be favourites to return to the Championship at the first time of asking.

We had something of a near-miss when it came to predicting Spurs vs Bournemouth last time out. We opted for the draw as we have been impressed by Bournemouth’s upturn in form and they are a cohesive counterattacking side who have managed to get results against both Liverpool and Newcastle recently, while they also held a 2-0 lead against Arsenal with approximately half an hour remaining.

This impressive form sees O’Neil’s men six points clear of the relegation zone with just seven matches to play. Their home match against West Ham is the first in a trilogy of relegation six-pointers, with an away match against Southampton in midweek followed by the visit of Leeds United to the Vitality Stadium. Though it’s a cliche, their Premier League fate would seem to rest in their own hands.

West Ham have shown a steady improvement in form over the last 15 games or so that has lifted them out of the relegation zone, though not quite clear of the relegation battle as of yet. Perhaps crucially, The Hammers have a game in hand over all of the sides around them owing to their European football commitments. Generally speaking, it’s their away form that is largely responsible for their lowly league position, so a 1-0 victory away to Fulham would have been a welcome sight for Moyes if not sections of their own fanbase owing to their style of play.

Although West Ham would undoubtedly be delighted with a European trophy (Conference League), fixture congestion could take its toll. 10 games are scheduled for Moyes’ men over the course of the next five weeks or so, a five-week period which will determine their Premier League status yet could also result in qualification for the Europa League – a rather unlikely scenario given their poor domestic campaign.

Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Bournemouth:

Might Not Play: Traore, Vina

Will Not Play: Fredericks, Stanislas

West Ham:

Might Not Play:

Will Not Play: Scamacca

Bournemouth vs West Ham Lineups (Predicted)

Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Neto; Kelly, Senesi, Stephens, Smith; Lerma, Rothwell; Christie, Outtara, Billing; Solanke

West Ham (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Cresswell, Kehrer, Zouma, Coufal; Rice, Soucek; Benrahma, Paqueta, Bowen; Antonio

Bournemouth vs West Ham Analysis

Bournemouth Are Well Drilled and Consistent

Bournemouth’s steady improvement since the World Cup break has started to pay dividends for the south coast side, to the point where they pass the ‘eye test’ when it comes to determining who will be safe at the end of this Premier League campaign. They possess a consistent and coherent threat in transition and their attacking threat owes very little to long balls and luck.

Bournemouth are 9th in the Premier League form table over the last 10 matches, and 13th over the last 15, which highlights the incremental nature of their improvement but also suggests that this is sustainable for them. They’ve managed to become difficult to play in midfield, and most teams in the league understand that in order to hurt Bournemouth, they’re most likely going to have to risk giving up chances.

There’s a versatility to their squad which allows them to line up with a back three with wing-backs or a more traditional back four whenever the tactical situation dictates. None of their recent victories were particularly against the run of play – Spurs had them pinned back but we have to adjust our thinking for the quality they have at their disposal – Bournemouth played it smart and their setup allowed them to threaten until the very end instead of settling for a point.

Moyes Isn’t Afraid of Unpopular Tactics

What Bournemouth ideally would like West Ham to do is to turn up at the Vitality Stadium, have the majority of possession, struggle to break them down (they’re not the most creative side) and then attack in transition to pick them off. We don’t expect that West Ham will ‘play ball’ here, so to speak. If they have the majority of the ball, it most likely won’t be north of 60%.

West Ham would be better served remaining patient and waiting for mistakes – Bournemouth thrive upon counter-pressing and attacking directly with numbers in support. West Ham have a strong central midfield trio of Rice, Paqueta and Soucek, and if they’re able to stop Bournemouth in their tracks they could find themselves with a favourable attacking situation or two.

This is a match where West Ham could benefit from having David Moyes in charge, rather than a coach who is wedded to a system and would perhaps play into Bournemouth’s hands. Moyes has developed something of a reputation for pragmatism throughout his managerial career – he won’t be overly concerned with the entertainment value that West Ham provide here. This isn’t intended to be a criticism, more of an observation.

Our Prediction

We expect that this will prove to be a tough match for both teams, not one they’ll particularly enjoy towards the end of a congested season. Both of these sides have improved to the point where they’re outsiders for the relegation conversation, but we can’t make a case for either side to win.

For Bournemouth, this matchup represents something of a stylistic issue. West Ham aren’t likely to give Bournemouth what they’re looking for in transition. In turn, though West Ham have been steadily improving, we have to consider the effect of cumulative fatigue upon the squad. They lined up with a mostly first-choice team in their 4-1 Europa Conference League victory over Gent, and we don’t expect them to rest too many players here.

Bournemouth 1-1 West Ham

Bournemouth vs West Ham Betting Tip – Draw Odds: