Bournemouth vs West Ham United. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance11,369.
Saturday 11 March 2017 14:38, UK
Tyrone Mings will serve the first game of his five-match ban as Bournemouth host West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.
The defender was charged by the FA after he appeared to stamp on the head of Zlatan Ibrahimovic during a 1-1 draw with Manchester United last weekend and will not be available for selection until the middle of April.
It is a decision that both the club and player have expressed their disappointment about as the Cherries look to pull themselves clear of a relegation battle.
West Ham are winless in their last three Premier League outings but they do have a good record when facing Bournemouth, having never lost on their three previous trips to the Vitality Stadium.
Victory will see them break into the top 10, with Stoke and Southampton not in action this weekend.
Bournemouth captain Simon Francis is making progress after a hamstring injury but could miss out again, while goalkeeper Adam Federici and striker Callum Wilson are continuing their rehabilitation from knee injuries.
Andrew Surman will also be unavailable after picking up a red card at Old Trafford.
Slaven Bilic will welcome back Michail Antonio for the trip to the south coast after his suspension, while striker Andy Carroll is also available despite requiring stitches after clashing with Victor Moses against Chelsea last weekend.
Winston Reid, who limped off against the Blues with a leg injury, is also in contention for the game.
Bournemouth's only previous victory against West Ham in any competition was at the Boleyn Ground last season (4-3) - their first ever top-flight win.
All seven of West Ham's Premier League goals against the Cherries have come in the second half of games.
Josh King has scored five goals in his last six Premier League appearances for Bournemouth, this after scoring just three goals in his first 20 league games in 2016-17.
No club in Premier League history have used more English players than West Ham United (105 - level with Aston Villa), while Bournemouth have used the joint-most this season (15 - level with Burnley).
Bournemouth are currently on a winless run of eight games in the Premier League (W0 D3 L5) and have conceded 21 goals in this run (2.6 per game).
The Cherries still haven't managed to win a Premier League home match against opposition from London (W0 D3 L5).
Of West Ham United's 33 Premier League points this season, 26 have been won against teams currently in the bottom 10 (79 per cent). Eight of their nine wins have also come against these sides.
Bournemouth averaged the highest kilometres per game in the Premier League last season (117), but this season that has dropped by 3.6km to 113.4km per game - the joint seventh best.
Andy Carroll (49 goals) is one goal away from 50 Premier League goals. He's currently averaging his best minutes per goal ratio in a single PL campaign in 2016-17 (a goal every 148 minutes).
This is a big game. Bournemouth have to win otherwise they could be in real danger. They let in too many goals and are now missing Tyrone Mings through suspension. He will be a big miss. West Ham are a better side away from home. They will cause Eddie Howe's side plenty of problems. I know a lot of people will go against Bournemouth in this one. I'm going with my heart instead of my head.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2
The Cherries drifted out to 6/1 to face relegation following their creditable point at Manchester United, while Slaven Bilic's men are odds-on for a top-half finish despite Monday's defeat to Chelsea.
Andy Carroll heads a wide-open first goalscorer market at 5/1 closely followed by Joshua King at 11/2, while the returning Michail Antonio is a 15/2 chance.
Bournemouth v West Ham is included in this weekend's Super 6, with £250,000 up for grabs for simply predicting the six correct scores. Enter your selections by here
