As West Ham prepare to take on Bournemouth at Dean Court, manager Slaven Bilic discussed which players would be available for the clash.

Players availability?

Michail Antonio returns from suspension after being shown a red card during their 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Monday night.

Andy Carroll and Robert Snodgrass return respectively after sustaining minor cuts during the Chelsea game.

“Andy and Robert both had cuts in the Chelsea game,” He said. “Snodgrass had stitches [in his leg], and Andy in his eyebrow, but they are all right. Andy is fit.

“Fonte also felt something, but we are very optimistic that he is going to be OK for the game on Saturday, so it all looks good.”

The manager will again look to past performances as he aims to repeat last season’s victory where they came away with a 3-1 win at the Vitality Stadium.

Top half on the horizon

A win this weekend would take them into the top half of the Premier League table, making it three out of four away wins, however, the Hammer’s boss knows there is still a task at hand.

“First, we have to secure our Premier League status,” he stated.

“There is still a big job to do and, as I’ve said before, we approach every game and try to win it and see where it’s going to bring us. We want to and we have to finish the season strong.”

Ahead of the Bournemouth tie, Bilic gave praise to their performance against Manchester United where they came away with a point having played the second half with 10 men.

“They played the whole second half with ten men, so we’re expecting a really, really difficult game on a difficult, small pitch, with a good atmosphere, but we’re looking forward to it.”

Noble leads the way

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic gave praise to captain Mark Noble for the recent influence he has had on the squad. He related the No16’s influence to the quote from one of America’s sporting greats, Vincent Lombardi.

‘It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.’

Mark Noble who is currently the longest-serving player at the club takes great responsibility as captain and is great at lifting players around him.

“He is the leader of the team,” said the Hammers boss. “He keeps us balanced. Sometimes he has a great game, sometimes he doesn’t. But overall he is playing good for us.

“And he is more than a player on the pitch. His presence means a lot. It means a lot for the others around him.”

Live coverage of Bournemouth vs West Ham will be available on Sky Sport from 15:00 GMT.

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