West Ham extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to six games as they drew 2-2 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. A draw was probably a fair result for both sides after an enthralling afternoon of play on the South Coast. Here are our talking points from the game.

Andriy Yarmolenko excellent: We thought Andriy Yarmolenko was good last week against United, but he was even better today against Bournemouth. Scored a fine opening goal- almost a replica of his strike against United from last week, and played a key part in Aaron Cresswell’s equaliser. His interplay with Sebastien Haller was fantastic to watch and he gave Cherries left back Diego Rico a torrid afternoon.

The Ukrainian didn’t shy away from his defensive duties either, regularly helping Ryan Fredericks on the right wing. All in all, a very fine afternoon of work from him [Read more…]

Both Bournemouth and West Ham will look to bounce back from their respective midweek Cup defeats when they lock horns at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With Arsenal not playing until Monday night, victory for either side will, at least temporarily, see them move into the top four.

The referee for this game is Stuart Attwell, who was also the man in the middle when the Cherries beat the Hammers 2-1 in August 2018. This will however be his first game involving the Irons in the 19/20 season.

With Arthur Masuaku back from suspension, Manuel Pellegrini must decide whether to restore the former to his starting XI, or to persist with Aaron Cresswell, who scored a fine free kick to help seal all three points against Manchester United, and was named in several pundits’ Round 6 Team of the Week.

Here is a look at what various TV and media pundits have predicted for this clash.

Mark Lawrenson: Lawro reckons that home advantage will help Bournemouth and has backed Eddie Howe’s side to edge this clash 2-1. [Read more…]

The referee for West Ham’s league clash this weekend at Bournemouth has been announced, and it’s a person who will be refereeing the Hammers for the first time in the 2019/20 season. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have played only six Premier League games this season but two referees- Mike Dean and Anthony Taylor, have already been in charge of two matches apiece for them.

Saturday’s referee will be Stuart Attwell, with Constantine Hatzidakis and Nicholas Hopton his assistants, and Andrew Madley in charge of VAR. Neil Hair will serve as the fourth official while Stephen Child will be Madley’s assistant on VAR.

How did West Ham do under Attwell in the 2018/19 season?

West Ham played four games under Attwell last season and lost three in a row before prevailing in the fourth and final one- a 3-0 victory at home against Southampton in the penultimate game of the season.

Interestingly, Attwell was also the referee when these two teams met last season- a fixture which the Cherries won 2-1 at the London Stadium.

West Ham under Attwell in 18/19

West Ham 1-2 Bournemouth (Round 2)
West Ham 1-3 Tottenham (League Cup)
Man City 1-0 West Ham (Round 28)
West Ham 3-0 Southampton (Round 37) [Read more…]