Bournemouth look to make a positive start under Andoni Iraola in a home clash against West Ham at Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth are beginning their first campaign under Iraola who was unexpectedly hired in June, whilst West Ham are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 14th-placed league finish last season.
Team News
Bournemouth will be without new signing, Alex Scott due to a knee injury.
Ryan Christie and Dominic Solanke (both unspecified) are doubts but Ryan Fredericks (calf), Lloyd Kelly, Adam Smith (both muscle), Marcus Tavernier (hamstring) and Antoine Semenyo (shin) are ruled out.
Justin Kluivert, Max Aarons and Milos Kerkez are looking for their competitive debuts for the Cherries.
West Ham have no fresh injury concerns to report as Lucas Paqueta looks set to return after he was substituted with a knock last weekend, during their friendly loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
Edson Alvarez will look to make his debut for David Moyes’ Hammers after joining from Ajax on Thursday (10 August).
When is Kick-Off?
Bournemouth host West Ham at Vitality Stadium at 3pm BST on Saturday 12 August, albeit untelevised in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in three of their last six meetings against West Ham (W2, D1, L3).
- West Ham have won two of six previous Premier League visits to Bournemouth (W2, D2, L2).
- David Moyes’ Hammers have scored 10 goals in their last three meetings against Bournemouth without conceding (W3).
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last five opening weekend fixtures (W3, D2).
- West Ham have won just one of their last seven opening weekend fixtures (W1, L6).
Prediction
Having taken an unexpected gamble to sack Gary O’Neil in mid-June and bring in Iraola, Bournemouth do look in a solid place despite a mixed pre-season but they must cut out their defensive fragility which was a major issue last season.
West Ham meanwhile took a bold gamble last season to chase European glory ahead of another top-ten tilt in the league which paid off, but they now need to reset and find a way to produce results without Declan Rice in midfield although time and patience will be key to that adaption.
This clash therefore should be an interesting contest because Iraola’s Cherries should be more attack-minded given his style, yet they are up against a West Ham side who are capable of producing team unity and gut when against the wall so a draw might be a fair result.
Prediction: Bournemouth 1-1 West Ham
Leave a Reply