Injury ravaged West Ham hope to pile more misery on out of form Cherries

Photo Credit: Evening Standard

A Bournemouth team who are winless in their last five Premier League games welcome West Ham United to The Vitality Stadium knowing they will have to be defensively resolute to come away with a positive result.

In recent weeks injuries have caught up with Eddie Howe’s side at the back, with Adam Smith and Simon Francis missing for significant periods, they have conceded 17 goals over the last five outings.

West Ham come to the south cost buoyant after a 1-0 win over Arsenal at The London Stadium. New signing Samir Nasri made an instant impact for the Hammers, assisting the winning goal for fan favourite Declan Rice, a win which pushed Manuel Pellegrini’s men up to ninth in the table.

Meetings between the two sides have offered entertainment for the watching fans, Bournemouth were 2-1 victors earlier in the season, forward Callum Wilson, linked with a move to West Ham, and central defender Steve Cook scoring the goals. West Hams last win in this fixture came back in 2016, when a Michail Antonio strike won the game against 10-man Bournemouth.

Bournemouth will continue to be without long term absentees, Lewis Cook, Simon Francis and Adam Smith. New signing Dominic Solanke will not be ready for action until early February but Callum Wilson is expected to recover from a hamstring problem to feature against West Ham.

Pellegrini has a number of injury problems, West Ham top the injury table with a total of nine absentees. Carlos Sanchez, Andriy Yarmalenko, Fabian Balbuena Jack Wilshere, Ryan Fredericks and Manuel Lanzini have unknown return dates after serious injuries. Winston Reid and Javier Hernandez edge closer to fitness, but are not due back until February. Wantaway forward Marko Arnautovic will be assessed closer to the game.

Despite the injury crisis, West Ham come into the game on good form, with Felipe Anderson looking worth every penny of the £42 million spent on him in the summer.

Bournemouth fans will hope they can be disciplined and tough to break down, whilst the pace of Ryan Fraser, Callum Wilson and Josh King can offer a serious threat at the other end of the pitch.