Bournemouth v West Ham: Hammers to maintain unbeaten run

Bournemouth v West Ham
Tuesday January 12, 19:45

Bournemouth

Given that this is their first ever Premier League campaign, and that they've had to deal with some terrible luck when it comes to injuries, this has been a remarkable effort so far from Bournemouth. A run of five defeats in six league matches between late September and early November set alarm bells ringing, but a run of just one defeat in eight games has steadied the ship. The Cherries are a healthy four points above the bottom three, and have secured wins over Manchester United and Chelsea that must've caused their fans to pinch themselves pretty hard.

Bournemouth aren't resting on their laurels, and they have splashed out on some expensive firepower. Prolific striker Benik Afobe has arrived from Wolves for a club-record fee, and his signing comes at a good time, after a three-match scoreless run for the Cherries in the Premier League. The ambitious south coast club have also re-signed Norwich forward Lewis Grabban.

Afobe is likely to make his debut on Tuesday night, but at time of writing his fellow recruit Juan Iturbe hadn't yet been given the green light. The 22-year-old Argentinian has been brought in on loan from Roma, and while the attacking midfielder has unquestionable talent, he didn't always show it in the Italian capital. When he is on his game, Iturbe has dizzying speed and trickery, and Bournemouth's acquisition of him is an impressive flag in the sand.

Howe unapologetically made a number of changes for the FA Cup win at Birmingham, and that has helped the injury situation, with no fresh concerns reported.

West Ham

While Bournemouth have had to cope with some damaging injury problems, West Ham have also had to make clever use of their squad. Boss Slaven Bilic is excelling in his first season in charge, with the Hammers sixth in the table. Not only have they lost just four games in the league all season, but they have racked up some wins against teams with big reputations. Liverpool were beaten home and away, Manchester City and Arsenal were vanquished on home turf, and Chelsea were swept aside at the Boleyn Ground.

The Hammers have identical home and away records, with four wins, four draws and just two defeats. However, West Ham have been stuttering a touch on the road of late - they are without a win in five away games, and have claimed just three points during that sequence.

Exciting young midfielder Manuel Lanzini has suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury, and will be out for a few weeks, while forward Enner Valencia and midfield disruptor Cheikhou Kouyate both face late fitness tests.

Match Odds

Both teams are on fine form, so I expected the Match Odds market to reflect that. However, Bournemouth are 2.10 for the win, and I think that's too short. West Ham are defending well, they've put together an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions, and the return from injury of talismanic playmaker Dimitri Payet has been a huge boost.

Bournemouth have made some exciting signings and are defying expectations, but the bare truth is that they've only won twice at home in the Premier League, and they haven't scored in the Premier League since mid-December. I'm opposing the hosts.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

These teams played out a seven-goal thriller in east London, as Bournemouth secured a stunning 4-3 win, but I'm not sure we'll see a repeat. Bournemouth are struggling in front of goal, and six of their nine home games have featured fewer than three goals.

West Ham have kept clean sheets in five of their last seven games in all competitions, and nine of their last 11 outings have seen an unders bet land.

Recommended Bets

Lay Bournemouth at 2.10
Back Under 2.5 Goals at 1.90