West Ham United continue their push for the top four when they host AFC Bournemouth on Thursday night. The Cherries come in having cooled off a bit, and come back down to Earth.
They now sit mid-table in the Premier League, after having been one of this season’s most pleasantly surprising teams.
West Ham United vs AFC Bournemouth FYIs
Kickoff: Thursday, Feb. 1, 7:30pm, London Stadium
West Ham United Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Form Guide, Standing: Bournemouth LLWWW 12th, 25 pts West Ham DDWWW 6th 35 pts
As for the men on David Moyes, they are currently slotted 6th in the table, in line for a UEFA Europa League berth. However, they’d obviously like to keep moving up the table, as they’re not too far off from the top four.
Lately they have been dealing with a ton of absentees, and for a whole host of reasons- injuries, suspensions, international duty at the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations.
Let’s now take a look at what Moyes can go with, in his first team, given who he has around and active. A first start for Manchester City loanee Kalvin Phillips? Yes, we are calling that!
West Ham United Starting XI Prediction vs AFC Bournemouth
4-2-3-1
Alphonse Areola; Ben Johnson, Konstaninos Mavropanos, Kurt Zouma, Emerson Palmieri; Kalvin Phillips, Tomas Soucek; Jarrod Bowen, James Ward-Prowse, Pablo Fornals; Danny Ings
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.