West Ham vs Bournemouth: Premier League Preview, Gameweek 22, 2024
General view outside the London Stadium, where Bournemouth are the visitors on Thursday. (Photo by Visionhaus / Getty Images)

Despite still being in search of their first win of the calendar year, West Ham are looking to make it five games unbeaten in the Premier League as they welcome Bournemouth to the London Stadium. 

The Hammers are looking to bounce back after being frustrated by Sheffield United ten days ago, when Oli McBurnie struck a 103rd-minute penalty to restore parity.

Equally, Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth side are looking to forget their 4-0 loss to Liverpool last time out in the Premier League and match the performance they produced against Swansea City in the FA Cup, where they thumped the Welsh side 5-0.

Despite recent losses to Liverpool and Tottenham, the south coast outfit will be relatively pleased entering the new year. Eight wins from 11 played is no mean feat, having had a very slow start to the campaign.

West Ham, however, were taken to an FA Cup replay by Bristol City, where they were subsequently dumped out of the cup thanks to a Tommy Conway goal at Ashton Gate.

Despite a slow start to the year, throughout all teams' last ten Premier League games, only Liverpool (24) have picked up more points than West Ham's 21 (six wins, three draws, one loss).

The Londoners will be happy with their recent record against the Cherries. Bournemouth have failed to beat the home side in any of their past five previous meetings, the Hammers winning three of those!

  • TEAM NEWS

West Ham

New Manchester City arrival Kalvin Phillips could be involved in the fixture, despite having little game time over the past years with the Citizens.

The midfielder has signed on loan for the remainder of the season and could start his first league game this season.

West Ham are also boosted by the return of Mohammed Kudus after the attacker returned home from international duty whilst playing for Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations.

David Moyes will still be without Brazilian Lucas Paquetá who is still suffering from a calf injury and is not expected to return until the beginning of March.

Other injury concerns involve Michail Antonio. The forward is still out with a knee problem.

Said Benrahma is in final talks away from the club and is set to join Lyon for the remainder of the season, with an obligation to buy for a fee of over £15m. 

Vladimir Coufal is also still absent as he is still serving a suspension following his red card in the game against Sheffield United. 

Bournemouth

Bournemouth's defensive injury crisis again took another blow as recently-recalled defender James Hill suffered an ankle issue in their cup victory against Swansea last Thursday.

Max Aarons is also sidelined for several weeks due to a thigh problem. 

The Cherries have also decided to recall French international Romain Faivre from FC Lorient following a successful loan spell.

This comes as David Brooks moves along the coast and joins Southampton for the remainder of the season.

Andoni Iraola has also confirmed that Adam Smith is back from injury and could start the game, which gives the Cherries a silver lining to their injury woes. 

The game will come too soon for Dango Ouattara, whose AFCON journey ended as Burkino Faso were eliminated from the competition.

The winger will likely be back in time for the Cherries' home fixture against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. 

Tyler Adams (hamstring/thigh) and Darren Randolph (illness) are also missing for the Cherries.

  • Likely Lineups

West Ham:

Areola; Johnson, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Álvarez, Soucek, Phillips; Ward-Prowse, Kudus, Bowen

Bournemouth:

Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly; Cook, Christie; Tavernier, Scott, Sinisterra; Solanke

  • Key Players 

West Ham - Mohammed Kudus

It has taken Mohammed Kudus a while to settle and earn game time after his big-money summer move from Ajax, but the Ghanaian is now one of the first names on the team sheet for the Hammers.

West Ham have certainly been lacking that extra spark and invention over the past few weeks, so to say they've missed him is a huge understatement. 

The forward notched two goals at AFCON, scoring a brace against Egypt, as he saw his side exit the competition in the group stages.

The thriving attacker already has six goals and one assist under his belt at West Ham in under 1000 minutes played. 

Bournemouth - Dominic Solanke

Bournemouth's talisman Dominic Solanke will be looking to continue his impressive scoring form, with the striker on 12 league goals already this season.

December's Premier League Player of the Month grabbed six goals in seven games to end the year, putting Bournemouth in a very comfortable midfield position. 

Solanke has enjoyed his football under Iraola and is relishing more opportunities to play under the Spaniard's high-pressing attacking nature of football.

The Englishman is only two shy of top scorers Erling Haaland and Mo Salah and is currently linked with a move to Tottenham this transfer window. 

  • Match details

The match is being played at the London Stadium and kick-off time is at 19:30 GMT on 1 February 2024.

You can also watch the game on 'discovery+' and on 'TNT Sports 2'.