Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Premier League match.
The Bournemouth squad is currently valued slightly higher than that of West Ham United (448 million euros to 400), but there is a gap of eight places between them in the standings, and two rounds ago they were separated by as many as 16 clubs.
Bournemouth
In this match-up Bournemouth are well ahead, but the gap has narrowed because of some rather painful defeats for them. Their finely tuned mechanism broke down against Manchester City (1:3) and Aston Villa (0:4). The Manchester City result is understandable: their chances were reduced to a minimum (0.72 xG), but the game against Aston Villa was even (1.61-1.70 in xG). Aston Villa were simply more clinical: 50% of their shots on target resulted in goals, whereas the hosts hit the target only three times. Supporters can take comfort from the fact that all these setbacks came away from home. At the Vitality Stadium there have been four wins and a draw.
West Ham United
West Ham United have not yet moved out of the relegation zone, but the positive trend under Nuno Espírito Santo is clear. They have already won in two consecutive rounds. The defence has not become much more reliable. They are still conceding in every match (already eight), but they have started to score more often. Both victories came with three goals scored. However, those matches were at home, where it is naturally easier. Away from home, West Ham United are no longer collapsing either. The heavy defeat to Sunderland (0:3) was back at the start of the season, and now in three of their last four away games, they have landed bets on the individual total over 0.5 and on the +1.5 handicap. Except when they face Arsenal (0:2).
Bournemouth vs West Ham United Prediction
Bournemouth are certainly not Arsenal and, as we can see, their summer losses in defence are still being felt, so it would be reasonable to back another West Ham United goal away from home, but we will go further. We will take the Both Teams to Score bet – the hosts average 1.6 goals per game at home.
