Key events
Neither keeper has had much to do. Bournemouth have wheeled it around but not in any dangerous areas. West Ham have looked lively at times, mainly when Crysencio Summerville has decided to go at it himself. He really does look the part.
HALF-TIME: West Ham 0-0 Bournemouth
Here’s to some proper entertainment after the interval.
45+1 min: Disasi cleans up a bouncing ball at the back for West Ham before Summerville, pushed back by Jiménez, is fouled inside his own half.
45 min: West Ham wheel it around at the back – we’ll have one extra minute of action.
44 min: Senesi comes from behind to foul Castellanos by the halfway line – the Bournemouth centre-half goes in the book.
43 min: Brilliant from Summerville, who pops up in a central position with his back to goal. He skates away, past Senesi and fires … way too high. Again, though, he’s the only person sprinkling a bit of magic on this contest.
42 min: Scott sees a bit of space in the middle, drives forward and hits from outside the area … it’s straight at Hermansen.
39 min: Ruud van Nistelrooy is taking it all in from the stands. Handy excuse to plug this goal.
38 min: Diouf has space to run in to on the left as West Ham press forward … but the move breaks down with an overhit pass by Soucek.
36 min: Truffert puts on his skates and thunders down the left for Bournemouth before Summerville, finding himself on the right for West Ham, goes down on the touchline. Both sides are struggling for clear-cut chances.
34 min: Castellanos continues to drift to the right when Bowen picks the ball up deep. The No 11 loses the ball but Bowen tries his luck from the edge of the area, playing keepy-uppy with his back to goal before turning to fire wide.
33 min: Soucek slides in on Scott and the ref flashes a yellow.
31 min: Fernandes’ ball is flicked on at the near post by Castellanos, but Evanilson heads away for a West Ham corner. Bowen continues to whip in dangerous deliveries, nearly finding the lively Castellanos for the glancing header.
30 min: Summerville wakes the crowd up, knocking the ball past Jiménez, who brings the winger down. West Ham have a free-kick, with the Bournemouth right-back avoiding a yellow.
28 min: Bowen nicks the ball off Adams but his pass down the right for Castellanos leads to the raised offside flag.
27 min: A booming header clears the ball for West Ham.
26 min: Jiménez makes a run down the right but is held up with the ball and Bournemouth retreat. Truffert, the other full-back, has a cross headed away at the far post. Corner to the visitors.
25 min: Bournemouth have a free-kick out on the right. Scott whips … the ball travels deep but Senesi’s header doesn’t give Hermansen any problems.
24 min: That’s the first quarter done and, I’ll be real, it hasn’t brought thrills.
22 min: Summerville is the man to get this crowd going, jinking away again before his low ball in from the left is collected by Petrovic.
20 min: Bournemouth continue to dominate possession but West Ham have been the ones to threaten.
19 min: Long-throw time: Hill sends it in for Bournemouth before Diouf hoofs the ball away.
17 min: Tyler Adams gets busy in the middle but Bournemouth can’t cut through West Ham’s defensive shape at the moment.
16 min: Summerville bursts into life, zig-zagging on the left wing before his dinked cross is headed away for a corner … Bowen whips into the danger area but Bournemouth handle it well enough.
15 min: West Ham work the ball nicely down the right but Magassa’s cross is poor.
13 min: Plenty of touches for Senesi and Hill as Bournemouth stay patient on the ball.
11 min: Magassa shows strength in the middle of the park for West Ham but Bournemouth regain the ball, with Senesi dinking it over the top for Adli to chase on the left.
10 min: Bournemouth begin to wheel the ball around at the back, pumping up those possession stats.
9 min: Summerville shows off his quick feet inside his own half as West Ham try and counter.
8 min: It’s an aerial game as the sides play volleyball inside the Bournemouth half.
6 min: A bright opening burst for West Ham continues: Mateus Fernandes pings a free-kick into the area, and Mavropanos rises for the header that travels off-target.
4 min: Summerville, the man of the moment, nearly opens the scoring. The bulk of the work is done by Castellanos, who follows a tidy flick with a lovely cross from the right: Summerville pokes out his boot inside the area but can’t get the required power or direction.
1 min: West Ham have an early corner … whipped in by Bowen, the ball brushes Disasi and Petrovic saves on the line! An early warning, with a dangerous delivery by the talismanic No 20.
Peeeeeep!
The hosts get us going.
Crysencio Summerville caused Diogo Dalot all sorts of bother last Tuesday; the winger has six goals in his last seven games. One to keep an eye on today.
West Ham make one change from the side that drew against Manchester United: Freddie Potts is suspended after receiving a red card against Burton Albion in the FA Cup, so in comes Soungoutou Magassa. Eli Junior Kroupi and Tyler Adams are back in for Bournemouth.
The teams
West Ham: Hermansen, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf, Fernandes, Magassa, Bowen, Soucek, Summerville, Castellanos
Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Wilson, Traoré, Todibo, Scarles, Kanté, Mayers
Bournemouth: Petrovic, Jiménez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert, Scott, Adams, Rayan, Junior Kroupi, Adli, Evanilson
Subs: Mandas, Brooks, Christie, Smith, Tavernier, Diakité, Ünal, Toth, Milosavljevic
Preamble
Let’s mix things up: if we’re pretending the league started on New Year’s Day, then this is a top-half battle. Andoni Iraola’s side have gone six league games without defeat; Nuno Espírito Santo’s men have won three out of five since that soul-crushing loss by Nottingham Forest last month.
The Hammers remain 18th but victory here will bring them level on points with Forest, the dream of safety still very much alive, Nuno still capable of haunting his former employers. These two sides have developed a habit of cancelling each other out, with five consecutive draws in the league, but that won’t cut it for West Ham in their current predicament. That Benjamin Sesko equaliser last week, deep in added time, must have really stung. Kick-off’s at 5.30pm GMT.
