West Ham vs Bournemouth: Premier League Preview
West Ham United vs AFC Bournemouth (Sunday 21st August 2016, 4.00pm BST)
The Set Up
Both of these teams go into this match having lost their opening game of the season, albeit to supposedly superior opposition. Bournemouth were simply outclassed by Mourinho’s Manchester United, while West Ham put in a disappointing performance against Chelsea, although they nearly came away with a point. It may be early days but both teams are currently in the relegation zone, neither of them will want to be there long!
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The Top Flight
You may remember this fixture last year for the sheer number of goals; the Hammers contrived to score 3 goals at home but still lose the match as both full backs had an awful game. Carl Jenkinson picked up a red card, while Aaron Cresswell was at fault for Bournemouth’s opening two goals.
There is also the small matter of this being West Ham’s first Premier League match at the new stadium. After the years of applications, public enquiries and farewells, this is where it all becomes real. Of course, we have already played there against Juventus and NK Domzale, but neither are quite like the Premier League. We simply have to win our first match here.
The Hammers
A fairly mediocre performance in midweek against apparently average Romanian opposition has not reassured West Ham fans that their team is improving on the lacklustre display against Chelsea, but it is certainly a start. In fairness, the team put out on Thursday had 8 changes from the line up in their Premier League opener, as Bilic utilised the squad’s depth (even with the burgeoning injury crisis) to cope with battling on two fronts, so expect him to ring the changes again for the weekend.
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The more promising outcome on Thursday night was Antonio’s switch to the right wing, as Bilic hopefully realised that he is not a natural defender. This may be a result of the injury problems West Ham are dealing with in their attack, but it is still very good news.
The Opposition
Bournemouth may not have started the season with a win, but it was always going to be difficult against such a star studded side as Manchester United. They are a dangerous team that we should be wary of, and we know all too well that Callum Wilson has the ability to punish teams who switch off at the back. Their free flowing attacking football could cause problems for the defence, as they struggled to deal with similar tactics from Chelsea. We will need to work hard down the wings as Charlie Daniels and Adam Smith love to push up, provide width and cause problems for full backs, maybe another reason why Bilic should start Antonio at right wing.
However, there are chinks in the armour. Man United showed that Bournemouth are not the best at dealing with balls into the box, especially with error-prone Artur Boruc in goal. Thankfully, we have Andy Carroll and he will relish the prospect of incoming crosses all afternoon, especially as assist-maestro Payet is set for his return.
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Suggested Line Up (4-2-3-1)
Adrian;
Byram, Reid, Collins, Masuaku;
Noble, Kouyate;
Antonio, Payet, Valencia;
Carroll
Editors note. It sounds as though Carroll is injured, and Kouyate too. Although we haven’t got official confirmation of that. If that’s the case I’m just going to have a little sob into my breakfast.
Prediction
West Ham 2-1 Bournemouth
West Ham are good enough to beat this Bournemouth team, as long as they work hard.