West Ham United vs Bournemouth

London Stadium sets the stage for an exciting League Cup second-round tie between familiar Premier League rivals West Ham United and Bournemouth.

It’s been a topsy-turvy Premier League start for West Ham. Julen Lopetegui’s side bounced back from a 2-1 home loss to Aston Villa on the opening weekend with a 2-0 triumph at Crystal Palace, setting themselves up nicely for this fixture. Since a top-flight title remains a far-fetched dream, the Hammers’ best chance of winning their first piece of silverware in the 21st century lies in this competition. But despite reaching two League Cup finals, they’ve never lifted the trophy. They’ll, nonetheless, hope to progress from this stage. The recent H2H history suggests they’re in pole position to do just that, having avoided defeat across their last six competitive meetings with Bournemouth (W3, D3). However, it’s worth noting that both Premier League games between these two teams in 2023/24 ended 1-1.

On the other hand, Bournemouth saw a VAR intervention deny them a last-gasp win against Newcastle United at the weekend, condemning Andoni Iraola’s side to a second consecutive 1-1 draw at the start of the new Premier League campaign following a share of the spoils against Nottingham Forest on day one. Both matches featured a goal on either side of halftime, with the equalizer arriving beyond the 75th minute on both occasions. Worryingly for the Cherries fans, Iraola’s men haven’t fared well on their recent competitive travels, claiming just one win in their last six away matches (D1, L4), with each defeat in this stretch seeing them concede 2+ goals.