Key events
23 min: Soler picks up the first booking of the evening, giving Semenyo a nudge when the Bournemouth man threatened to break clear on one of those mazy runs. A tactical foul, I think you’d call it.
21 min: Brian Robson, via email, is first with the right answer to my quiz question: it’s Fabianski.
19 min: Given Bournemouth’s recent run, three wins on the bounce going into this game, this has been a really confident start from West Ham, who earn another corner. Kepa flaps at the delivery hopefully, and is lucky to be able to grab the ball at the second attempt inside his six-yard box.
West Ham hit the bar!
16 min: Kudus breaks a tackle and threads a beautiful slide rule pass through the heart of Bournemouth’s defence to Bowen. The Englishman doesn’t have the raw pace to burst away from Huijsen, but he instead checks on the edge of the area and bends a beautiful shot that hits the upright. Kepa was nowhere near that, a complete passenger.
Bournemouth hit the post!
13 min: The Cherries go route one, and so nearly take the lead! Semenyo beats Wan-Bissaka to a flick on, Evanilson hopefully flicks onto Kluivert, who nods down to Semenyo … but his shot only flicks the outside of the post! It felt like the ball only bounced once or twice in that entire move and West Ham – so normally reliable in the air – were nearly undone.
10 min: West Ham, who have looked lively, come forward with Kudus, who is playing left wing today. The Ghanaian switches the play to Paqueta, who dances into the Bournemouth box but has his shot blocked.
8 min: Pop quiz: This season Jordan Pickford became the 20th goalkeeper to reach 300 Premier League appearances. Who is the only other active goalkeeper currently playing in the Premier League to achieve this feat.
Hint: it’s a topical question .
6 min: Paqueta has his pocket picked in midfield by Kluivert and Bournemouth counter. Semenyo finds Christie on the edge of West Ham’s area, but the Scot’s shot is crucially blocked by Soler. Christie has an ace left foot, but West Ham did well to get something on the shot.
4 min: Coufal, who has never scored for West Ham, gets the better of Kerkez on the right. The Czech canters into the Bournemouth area but the angle is tight and the right black fluffs his lines, skewing a shot high and wide.
2 min: Kerkez, who has recently been linked with a move to Manchester United and Liverpool, makes one of those trademark underlaps and gets to the byline, but it’s a good block from Mavropanos to clear the danger.
Peeeeeep! And we’re off on the south coast.
The teams are out! Let’s go.
For what it’s worth, West Ham were lucky to beat Wolves last Monday.
This was the xG …
West Ham 1.01
Wolves 1.63.
… and Wolves, whose defeat surely contributed to the sacking of Gary O’Neil at the weekend, were also unlucky to be on the receiving end of a few tenuous refereeing decisions.
This looks like a very cryptic (and slightly worrying for West Ham fans) pre-match message from Lucas Paquetá.
Eu não sou daqui
Pra casa voltarei
Ele vem me buscar e com ele eu iriei!
🙏🏽🙌🏽🎶— Lucas Paquetá (@LucasPaqueta97) December 16, 2024
According to Google, this translates as:
I’m not from here
I will return home
He comes to get me and with him I will go!
However, it appears that these are just lyrics to a Brazilian gospel song. Fabrizio Romano, stand down.
Speaking of left-backs, this interview with Milos Kerkez is well worth your time.
Both West Ham left backs, Emerson and Cresswell, are out of the squad. Emerson is suspended, having picked up his fifth yellow card of the season during last Monday’s 2-1 win over Wolves. Wan Bissaka will swap flanks tonight from right back, with Coufal coming to play in his normal position.
The teams!
Bournemouth: Arrizabalaga, Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Christie, Cook, Ouattara, Kluivert, Semenyo, Evanilson.
Subs: Travers, Brooks, Adams, Hill, Unal, Billing, Aarons, Winterburn, Kinsey-Wellings.
West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Mavropanos, Kilman, Wan-Bissaka, Alvarez, Soucek, Kudus, Soler, Lucas Paqueta, Bowen.
Subs: Areola, Summerville, Fullkrug, Luis Guilherme, Ings, Irving, Casey, Scarles, Orford.
Preamble
Welcome to the Harry Redknapp Derby. The famous Dorset local, a former player and manager of both these teams, will undoubtedly have made the short trip to the Vitality Stadium tonight from his nearby residence in Sandbanks.
And why not? The Vitality might be the smallest stadium in the Premier League, and the second smallest in Premier League history behind Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road, but it certainly packs a decent punch under the lights. And with Bournemouth riding high in seventh and able to go level on points with Manchester City in fifth, life is pretty sweet right now for the Cherries.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT.
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