West Ham will look to put their Anfield humiliation behind them when they welcome Bournemouth to the London Stadium tomorrow.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini put out five new faces in the side that was thrashed 4-0 by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, including Jack Wilshere, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko.
The Chilean will not panic just yet but will nonetheless hope for a much-improved performance from his side as his new starts begin to gel after a summer of change at the London Stadium.
Bournemouth’s start to the season greatly contrasted that of their opponents on Saturday, after they secured a 2-0 victory over Cardiff thanks to goals from Ryan Fraser and Calum Wilson.
Eddie Howe will believe he still has a major card up his sleeve, with record signing Jefferson Lerma yet to enter the fold for his new side after joining from Levante.
What time does it start?
West Ham vs Bournemouth kicks off at 3PM (BST)
Where can I watch it?
The match will not be shown live on TV or online in the UK.
Independent Sport will keep you up-to-date with all the goals as they go in on our live blog.
Highlights will be available at 10:30PM on BBC One.
It’s a big game for…
Jack Wilshere: The former Arsenal midfielder was starved of the ball in attacking areas due to the efficiency of Liverpool’s game, and the 26-year-old is still to put in the level of performance that saw him return to the Arsenal first team last season. Pellegrini stated that he sees the England man as a holding midfielder and therefore the initiator of their attacks, which places a huge amount of pressure on a man who has yet to hit the ground running at the London Stadium.
Stat…
Five: Of the six Premier League matches between these two sides, five have ended with each side scoring at least once. The only league fixture when this did not occur was back in August 2016, the first league match at the London Stadium, when West Ham ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a late goal from Michail Antonio.
Remember when…
There have been no shortage of high-scoring encounters between these two sides, and their meeting on Boxing Day last season was a fixture which also consisted of last-minute controversy and a goalkeeping mistake. Marko Arnautovic’s two goals, the first a simple finish after Asmir Begovic’s slip, seemed to have given the Hammers a 3-2 victory. However, in the last minute of additional time Wilson diverted a header from Nathan Aké into the net, which, after being initially disallowed for offside, was given as a goal by Bobby Madley, leaving West Ham incensed.
Player to watch…
David Brooks: The 21-year-old was Bournemouth’s go-to man on Saturday, presenting himself as the vital cog that linked Bournemouth’s midfield and attack together. Adept movement and commensurate precision with his passing left Cardiff bereft of ideas, and West Ham will need to keep an eye on the Welshman, who created Bournemouth’s opener on Saturday.
Past three-meetings…
West Ham 1 (Hernández) Bournemouth 1 (Fraser), Premier League, January 2018
Bournemouth 3 (Gosling, Aké, Wilson) West Ham 3 (Collins, Arnautović x2), Premier League, December 2017
Bournemouth 3 (King x3) West Ham 2 (Antonio, Ayew), Premier League, March 2017
Form guide…
West Ham: L
Bournemouth: W
Odds…
West Ham to win: 11/10
Bournemouth to win: 5/2
Draw: 5/2
