Hammers Try to Smash Cherries in Big Premier League Clash

West Ham United vs AFC Bournemouth

There are a good number of intriguing games happening in the second week of the Premier League. It may seem that there aren’t that many interesting games that will happen besides a big London Derby, but I can assure you that there is some quality football to watch if you know where to look.

A good example of such a fixture would be the game between West Ham and Bournemouth. The Hammers are coming off a big defeat against one of the Premier League favourites, but that doesn’t mean that they are a threat against the Cherries this early in the season.

This match is a battle of managers as much as it is between the players. The approaches Eddie Howe and Manuel Pellegrini will make ahead of this match will determine which side will win on this low-key cracker of a football match.

Talking Points

Bournemouth is definitely smaller in size and financial capability compared to most of the clubs in the Premier League, but it cannot be denied that they are now an established Premier League club under the brilliant Eddie Howe. The Cherries are expected to be competitive and stay up, and they can make a declaration of intent by winning against the Hammers.

They showcased how much they belonged in the English top flight by comfortably winning against Cardiff City. Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser showed the attacking quality that has helped keep the Cherries up in the Premier League over the past three seasons.

Moreover, they made impressive moves during the past summer window. They bolstered their ranks by acquiring Leganes left-back Diego Rico and promising youngster David Brooks. However, their biggest coup is the record signing of Jefferson Lerma from Levante. The Colombia international might make his debut in this big match, and his presence will definitely be a big thorn in Pellegrini’s attacking plans.

West Ham's first Premier League defeat won’t provoke any sort of knee-jerk reaction from Manuel Pellegrini — Manuel Pellegrini insists he has no plans to alter his attacking philosophy vs Bournemouth

However, it isn’t like the Hammers aren’t going to bring the game to Howe’s lovable side. Felipe Anderson, Carlos Sanchez, Lucas Perez, Jack Wilshere, and Issa Diop are the newest faces of a team that will still need time to get used to the system of a manager that won the Premier League with Manchester City.

Out of the many signings they made, Wilshere’s free transfer to London Stadium is easily one of the most impressive signings the club made in the offseason. While injuries have hampered what could have been a legendary career with Arsenal, his passing acumen and attacking capabilities easily makes him an important fixture in the West Ham midfield. The Cherries are more than familiar with his effectiveness on the midfield and will be on the lookout whenever he has the ball.

Their big defeat to Liverpool is the only thing that dominated the Premier League 2018 news pages for a couple of days, and that result could only be described as disappointing. However, success does not come overnight, and Pellegrini should have found issues he must address in order to make his team more effective moving forward.

If there’s one positive thing the West Ham faithful can be happy about, it will be the overall health of the squad. The entire squad, sans three long-term injuries, is fit for selection. The Chilean manager can select an entirely different squad to the team he fielded if he so wished to catch the Cherries off-guard.

History

These two teams haven’t faced each other much throughout the existence of these two clubs, so it may be tough to decide on which West Ham vs Bournemouth odds to pick based on their head-to-head battles alone. However, their first Premier League meeting in 2015 isn’t the first time either team squared off against each other.

West Ham faced the then-Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic in the 1929 FA Cup where West Ham won over the Cherries 3-1 during the replay. They next met during the League Division Two, where West Ham won by 4-1, the biggest winning margin in their head-to-head history.

Their Premier League forays, however, are a mixed bag of results. Both teams won their respective home games during the Cherries’ first two seasons. Their most recent encounters were close draws, with the game at Dean Court ending in a thrilling six-goal fiesta.

Betting Tip

	West Ham United vs AFC Bournemouth	AFC Bournemouth Asian Handicap +0.25 @ 2.09
	August 18, 22:00 (GMT+8)

The SBOBET Premier League market sees West Ham having the slight edge over Bournemouth, but they’re giving the Hammers too much credit and the Cherries, too little.

If we combine their head-to-head history and Bournemouth’s recent form during their league opener, it wouldn’t be weird to see the Cherries at least drawing or winning against West Ham. I think Eddie Howe is just too impressive of a manager to be easily beaten by Pellegrini this early in the season.

However, I still wouldn’t discount a draw from happening, since both squads are of similar quality. The 1X2 market offers intriguing odds of 3.40.