West Ham United return to Premier League action this weekend after booking a place in the semi-finals of a European competition for a second season in a row.
David Moyes’ Hammers are among the final four of the Europa Conference League after a 5-2 aggregate win against Belgian side Gent, winning 4-1 in the second leg at the London Stadium on Thursday.
The Irons will now return their focus to domestic matters as they look to distance themselves from the Premier League’s relegation zone, with the club currently 15th in the table four points above the bottom three with eight games left to play.
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Eight points from a possible 15 in the last five games have boosted West Ham’s chances of survival and Moyes’ squad will be buoyed by their comeback from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Premier League leaders Arsenal last Sunday.
This weekend’s opponents pose a different challenge. Bournemouth are also among those battling to avoid relegation but are on a good run of form. Back-to-back wins against Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur has lifted the Cherries out of the drop zone and built a six point gap from the bottom three, with Gary O’Neil’s side currently 14th.
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson believes one more win will be enough for the Cherries to secure safety, which he predicts will happen with a 2-0 victory against West Ham. “Bournemouth have been outstanding this month,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“I’ve said it from the word go – I didn’t see them going down. They bought well in January, and they’ll be safe if they win this game.
“Arsenal shot themselves in the foot against West Ham after the half-hour mark last week. Fair play to the players, but Arsenal did let them back in the game,
“West Ham did pull off a comeback, but they’re also playing on Thursday night. I’m backing Bournemouth to win this game.”
Mark Lawrenson disagrees. Although Bournemouth have been on a good run of late, the former Liverpool defender expects the Cherries to suffer a setback.
With the exception of a 5-1 loss at home against Newcastle United, West Ham have managed to pick up points in four of their last five Premier League matches and have suffered just three defeats in their last 11 games.
Therefore, Lawrenson backs the Hammers to win 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium. “I’m going to go for West Ham to win,” he told Paddy Power. “They’re starting to put a decent run together and I know they play on Thursday night.
“The things with Bournemouth is that they’ve had some fab results but they just tend to slip up. You know with David Moyes, like he did last week against Arsenal, it’s just make sure you’re not beaten, that’s the first thing.”
The form of both sides heading into this fixture makes it tough to call. Bournemouth’s win against Tottenham last Saturday has done enough to convince some doubters that they will eventually secure another season in the Premier League, including former Chelsea and Celtic striker Chris Sutton.
But the BBC Sport pundit has praised West Ham for their performance against Arsenal as he predicted a 0-0 for this Sunday’s fixture. He said: “In the last hour of their draw with Arsenal, West Ham looked more like the team they were in the previous two seasons. I was impressed.
“But Bournemouth continue to prove me wrong, with their results and performances, and last week's win over Tottenham makes me think they are going to stay up. That was such a huge moment for them.”
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