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Julen Lopetegui survived ‘El Sackico’ as West Ham squeezed past fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers, but a tough test lies ahead as the Irons visit in-form Bournemouth.
Bournemouth have won three on the bounce, the latest of which came in dramatic style as they recovered from a goal behind to score in the 87th and 95th minute to defeat Ipswich Town.
Late comebacks have been a theme for the Cherries this term, having snatched victory at Everton despite trailing 2-0.
Andoni Iraola’s side are a match for anybody at the Vitality Stadium. They have beaten Arsenal and Manchester City at home, and start as odds-on favourites against West Ham.
It is not all good news for Bournemouth, though. Defender Marcos Senesi and midfielder Marcus Tavernier are both set to be absent for an extended period after sustaining injuries over the last two weeks.
West Ham’s success over Wolves was much needed. Any other result may have dragged the Irons into the relegation picture, which would have surely been curtains for Lopetegui.
The 2-1 win relieved some pressure but they must build on it. Every previous league victory for West Ham this season has been followed by a loss. It’s a cycle that fans will soon get tired of if they haven’t already.
Michail Antonio will be out for a long time after his car crash, but summer signing Niclas Fullkrug remains out of favour. An unused substitute last time out, the German is unlikely to be preferred to Jarrod Bowen in the number nine role.
Bournemouth completed a league double over the Irons in 2018-19 but have not got one over on them since then. West Ham have won four and drawn three of the last seven meetings, although just one of those triumphs came at the Vitality Stadium.
Both encounters ended 1-1 last season, as Dominic Solanke scored in both fixtures for the Cherries, cancelling out a Bowen effort on the South Coast and opening the scoring at the London Stadium only for James Ward-Prowse to equalise from the spot.
Bowen was also on the scoresheet when the clubs met in the EFL Cup in August.
The Cherries are no strangers to extended winning runs under the current manager, while the same can’t be said for West Ham.
There have been several high-scoring games between Bournemouth and the Irons over the last decade, including a 4-3 and a 3-3.
Bowen will likely line up through the middle on Monday, just as he did against Wolves. The best bet is for the England international to score or assist.
West Ham’s top scorer for each of the last three seasons leads the way this term too despite being nowhere near as prolific.
Operating predominantly from the right-hand side of the forward line, Bowen’s goal return has suffered but the horrific injury to Antonio has resulted in Lopetegui giving the 27-year-old a go up top.
That was rewarded on Monday as he scored a beautiful winner. He had already registered an assist on the night, too, taking over corner duties from Emerson Palmieri to pick out Tomas Soucek who headed in.
Lucas Paqueta is no longer a guaranteed starter after a poor run of form, which opens up further set-piece opportunities for Bowen.
The Irons are priced at 1/3 to score at least once against Bournemouth, who have only kept two home league clean sheets, one of which was against 10 men. With Bowen now a focal point of the attack, expect him to be involved should the Irons oblige.
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