Bournemouth v West Ham: Hammers can continue strong run of away form

Bournemouth v West Ham
Saturday 11 March, 15:00

Bournemouth

The build-up to this clash at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday has undoubtedly been overshadowed by events at Old Trafford last week.

The running battle between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tyrone Mings was an enthralling one until it turned ugly just before half-time. The big Swede ended up with a three match ban for his elbow at a corner and the Bournemouth defender has been - somewhat controversially - handed a five game ban for his stamp beforehand. During the melee that followed those two incidents, Bournemouth midfielder Andrew Surman was shown a second yellow card for a push.

Those two join Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas and Simon Francis - who are all injury doubts - on the sidelines, giving manager Eddie Howe a bit of a selection headache. 

Youngster Baily Cargill - who made his league debut against United after coming off the bench - could start in a makeshift defence which has looked shaky even when at full strength since Chelsea recalled Nathan Ake from his loan spell in January.

The Cherries have not won in eight Premier League games, conceding 21 goals in that run - at a rate of 2.63 per game.

While United old boy Josh King has been in good form - scoring five goals in his past six games - Bournemouth will need him to keep up that rate if they are to avoid slipping further towards a relegation scrap. The Norwegian can be backed at 2.70 on the Sportsbook to score anytime.

West Ham

The Hammers are left with comparatively little to play for now this season and will be glad to have comfortably avoided relegation after a shaky start in their new stadium.

Much of that owes to their excellent away record. Slaven Bilic's side have lost just one of their last seven games on the road - picking up points at Old Trafford and Anfield as well as a win at St Mary's.

While they did lose to a clinical Chelsea side on Monday - not that there's any shame in that - the Hammers will have their sights set firmly on a top half finish from their current position of 11th.

From the outside, the club has looked a lot more settled since the departure of Dimitri Payet. While the Frenchman was talismanic at times - particularly in their strong end to last season - Andy Carroll's return to fitness and the continued emergence of Michail Antonio has proven more than enough to offset the loss. According to Opta, Carroll is enjoying his best minutes per goal ratio in a Premier League campaign (every 148 minutes) and is just one away from hitting 50 in the top flight. You can get on him at 6.00 on the Sportsbook to open the scoring on Saturday.

Referee

Bobby Madley will take charge of Saturday's game. The West Yorkshireman has handed out 101 yellow cards and three reds in his 25 games this season and has watched both of these sides win twice this term when he has been in the middle.

Match odds

Bournemouth have the third worst defensive record in the division - only Swansea and Hull have let in more - conceding 1.92 goals per game. With Mings definitely ruled out and club captain Francis a big doubt, West Ham's front line could well have an enjoyable afternoon.

Given their away form and the fact they have won the previous two fixtures between these sides, the Hammers look decent value to pick up three points at odds of 2.90. Bournemouth can be backed at 2.66 while the draw is around 3.55.

A more conservative option, however, would be to back West Ham on the Draw No Bet market at 2.00 or above.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

Supporters of both these sides have witnessed their fair share of goals this season. Bournemouth's games have seen 89 goals at 3.29 per match, while West Ham's have seen 82 at 3.03.

The market seems to reflect this fairly, however. You can back Over 2.5 Goals at odds of around 1.78 or Over 3.5 Goals at 2.88 if you fancy another goalfest.

Half-Time/Full-Time

One particularly interesting trend in West Ham's recent tendency to finish games strongly. As well as Manuel Lanzini's last minute consolation against Chelsea on Monday night, 13 of West Ham's last 17 goals have come in the second half of games as have all of the Hammers' seven top flight goals against Bournemouth.

You can back the Draw/West Ham at 7.20 if you fancy the Hammers to have a slow start and finish strongly on Saturday.


Recommended bet

Back West Ham DNB @ 2.00