West Ham United - Bournemouth predictions and free betting tips [01/02/2024]

On Thursday, 1st February, as part of the 22nd round of the Premier League, West Ham will welcome Bournemouth on their home turf. Two weeks ago, The Hammers were forced to make do with a 2:2 draw against Sheffield United, while the Cherries thrashed Swansea 5:0 over the weekend in the 1/16 final of the FA Cup.

Projected line-ups

West Ham: Areola; Johnson, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Phillips, Soucek; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Cornet; Bowen.

Bournemouth: Neto; Kelly, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkész; Cook, Christi; Tavernier, Scott, Sinistra; Solanke.

Stadium

The clash will take place in London at the Olympic stadium.

West Ham

Aiming for the European zone, West Ham currently sits in 6th place in the Premier League standings, trailing fifth-place Tottenham by 5 points. The Hammers have gone unbeaten in their last 5 rounds (3 wins and 2 draws), two weeks ago they drew 2:2 with a struggling Sheffield United. After Maxwell Cornet and the Blades' newcomer Ben Brereton Diaz exchanged goals in the first half, James Ward-Prowse put the Londoners ahead shortly after the break, but Oli McBurnie restored parity on the scoreboard with a penalty in the 13th minute of added time. It's important to note that the hosts are unbeaten in their last nine home matches; moreover, David Moyes' men have managed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last three home games in the Premier League.

Having been knocked out of the League Cup and FA Cup, David Moyes' men topped their Europa League group and are now waiting to find out who they'll face in the last 16. Key players Edson Alvarez and Paqueta are still on the mend in the infirmary following injuries. The same goes for main striker Antonio, while right-back Coufal will be suspended. Important Moroccan defender Aguerd only flew out with his national team for the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday and will be unavailable for his club's next match. On the other hand, Ghanaian Kudus (6 goals) has already returned to West Ham and will most certainly start alongside Bowen (11 goals). This winter the hosts signed England international Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City, while German defender Kehrer has moved to Monaco.

Bournemouth

At the start of the season, it seemed like Bournemouth would be doomed to a relegation fight, but then the Cherries pulled up their socks. As a result, the visitors occupy a respectable 12th place in the Premier League table, sitting 9 points clear of the drop zone. After 7 matches without defeat (6 wins and 1 draw), the red and blacks lost to Tottenham (3:1) and Liverpool (0:4) in their last two games. Last weekend, Bournemouth had little trouble overcoming Swansea in the 1/16 final of the FA Cup (5:0), with goals from Lloyd Kelly, Alex Scott, Luis Sinistra, David Brooks and Dominic Solanke. Prior to Tottenham's victory over Bournemouth in London in December, the southerners racked up four straight away wins; in total, the team has scored 17 goals and conceded 23 across 10 away fixtures.

Absent from Bournemouth's line-up are defenders Aarons and Smith, backup goalkeeper Randolph and experienced players Adams and Fredericks. Additionally, winger Wattara (Burkina Faso) is currently participating in the Africa Cup of Nations, while Semenyo (3 goals) has already been eliminated from the tournament with the Ghanaian national team and returned to his club last weekend. The South-coasters' impressive performance against Swansea in the FA Cup was somewhat marred by a serious injury to defender James Hill, who was substituted in the 57th minute with an ankle sprain. Dominic Solanke (12 goals) is the Bournemouth's main attacking weapon and will certainly start on Thursday. During the winter transfer window, Traore (Napoli), Marcondes (Hibernian) and Rothwell (Southampton) left the visitors' ranks.

Head-to-head 

None of the last five head-to-head matches against West Ham have ended in victory for Bournemouth, although a 1:1 draw at Vitality in August put an end to the Hammers' three-match winning streak.

Match forecast for West Ham - Bournemouth

West Ham are superb on home soil and should be able to deal with Bournemouth, who fall significantly short in terms of personnel. To their credit, the Cherries have managed to settle into mid-table after a slow start to the season, but results from the fixture history with the Hammers do not bode well for the visitors. The hosts are motivated by their battle for a finish in the European spots and are bound to grab all three points.