West Ham United will face off against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday hoping to bounce back from their 4-0 defeat at the hands of Oxford United in the EFL Cup. The Hammers will come into this encounter at the back of three consecutive wins in the Premier League. However, securing a positive result away at Dorset won’t be an easy task for the London outfit. The Cherries are also in a good run of form after they emerged victorious in their past two league matches against Everton and Southampton respectively.
Manuel Pellegrini is expected to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and will make a whole host of changes to his starting XI this weekend.
4-2-3-1 West Ham United Predicted Lineup To Face Bournemouth
Defence
Łukasz Fabiański will resume his goalkeeping duties in between the sticks for the Hammers after he managed to earn three back to back clean sheets in the English top-flight. Both Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna are expected to continue their partnership at the heart of Pellegrini’s backline. The defensive duo will hope to keep things tidy at the back versus the Cherries this weekend. However, it won’t be easy as they will be up against Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson, who is enjoying a rich vein of form in the Premier League of late.
Ryan Fredericks will try to make a positive impact as the right-back while Aaron Cresswell lines up on the other side in the left-back position. Cresswell scored a fantastic freekick against Manchester United last weekend so he will be full of confidence heading into this clash at the Vitality Stadium.
Arthur Masuaku will have to settle for a spot on the Hammers bench and might get a chance to feature in this game if required.
Midfield
Both Mark Noble and Declan Rice will look to put in a tireless shift while operating as the holding midfielders. They will look to win the ball back at the centre of the park and will also need to provide adequate support for the front players. The midfield three of Andriy Yarmolenko, Pablo Fornals and Felipe Anderson will lineup just ahead of them as part of Pellegrini’s attack.
The talented trio has performed well as a collective unit over the past couple of weeks. Hence, they will be confident about putting in another impressive display versus Eddie Howe’s men this weekend.
Attack
Sebastien Haller will once again get the responsibility to lead the Hammers attack up top. The French striker has not scored a single goal in his past two league starts. Therefore, he will be desperate to find the back of the net against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.
