West Ham v Bournemouth preview: Jefferson Lerma could feature

Bournemouth's club-record signing Jefferson Lerma could be set for his debut against West Ham on Saturday.

The Colombia midfielder joined the Cherries in a £25m deal from Levante this summer but did not feature in the 2-0 win over Cardiff last weekend.

However, he looks set to be available as Bournemouth travel to London Stadium.

"He's coming along well," said Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe. "He's had a good week in training.

"The thing we've got to remember is that he's had minimal training after the World Cup, but his performance and endurance levels are getting better with each training session. He's getting closer."

While Bournemouth started the season on a positive note, West Ham were beaten 4-0 at Liverpool.

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Six of West Ham's nine summer signings featured in the game at Anfield, but Lucas Perez and Carlos Sanchez did not play after joining on Deadline Day.

Asked whether the pair could play against Bournemouth, Hammers manager Manuel Pellegrini said: "I cannot tell you now. Carlos arrived on the last day. He has worked just one week with us.

"Lucas Perez is similar. We will see if they are at least able to come to the bench but I cannot answer that question."

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Team news

West Ham are only missing long-term absentees Andy Carroll, Winston Reid and Manuel Lanzini.

Bournemouth also have no fresh injury problems.

Defender Diego Rico, who joined from Leganes, is in the middle of a three-game suspension after picking up a red card in his final La Liga match last season. Junior Stanislas (knee) remains sidelined and midfielder Kyle Taylor continues his recovery from a muscular problem.

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Opta stats

• Both West Ham and Bournemouth have two wins apiece in their six Premier League meetings, with two draws.
• The side scoring first has only won two of the six Premier League meetings between Bournemouth and West Ham, with the Cherries winning 4-3 in August 2015, and the Hammers winning 1-0 in August 2016.
• Five of the six Premier League meetings between West Ham and Bournemouth have seen both teams find the back of the net, with the exception being a 1-0 win for West Ham in August 2016 - in the first ever league game at the London Stadium.
• Bournemouth have scored more Premier League goals against West Ham than they have vs any other side in the competition (12).
• Bournemouth have won each of their last three Premier League games - they've never won four in a row in the top flight.
• West Ham have conceded 72 Premier League goals since the start of last season, more than any other team. Each of their last eight defeats in the competition has seen the Hammers ship at least three goals.
• Bournemouth's Callum Wilson has scored four goals in his four league games against West Ham, including a hat-trick in August 2015. Only against Huddersfield (5) has he scored more in English league football.

Merson's prediction

I watched Bournemouth last week and they weren't very good. I know they won but it wasn't the Bournemouth we're used to seeing, pinging the ball around and playing with a lot of pace.

West Ham were all over the place at Anfield but they're not going to come up against Liverpool every week, I'll go for them to win.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)

Betting

West Ham are Sky Bet's 11/10 narrow favourites as they welcome Bournemouth to the London Stadium, with the Cherries priced at 23/10 to get three points and 5/2 to come away with a point. Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic are priced at 9/2 to score first, while Callum Wilson is the favourite to score first for the visitors at 11/2, the same price as veteran Jermain Defoe.

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