Andoni Iraola experiences his first taste of Premier League football on Saturday afternoon, as his Bournemouth side host West Ham United at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries are entering an exciting new era after salvaging their top-flight status last season, while pessimism is more rife than optimism among the Hammers’ fanbase.
A reunion with former head coach Gary O’Neil will soon be on the agenda for Bournemouth after the 40-year-old took on the Wolverhampton Wanderers vacancy, succeeding Julen Lopetegui after guiding the Cherries to Premier League safety in 2022-23.
However, O’Neil’s impressive feats only earned him a sacking from the cut-throat Bill Foley, who has since witnessed his side pit their wits against a wide range of continental opponents during Iraola’s first pre-season, where Bournemouth posted a satisfactory set of results.
Alongside defeats to Maccabi Tel Aviv and Atalanta BC, Bournemouth marched to a trio of victories over Hibernian, Southampton and Ligue 1 side Lorient, getting the better of the latter 2-0 last weekend courtesy of goals from David Brooks and Kieffer Moore.
Few Bournemouth fans will need reminding as to how the start of their 2022-23 season panned out under Scott Parker, who had lost his job by the end of August, although he did lead the Cherries to an opening-day success against Aston Villa before the capitulation began.
Iraola will be handed a baptism of fire too, as the Cherries will meet Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Brentford, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion between now and the end of September, and four of their final five Premier League home matches last term ended in defeat.
Speaking of defeats, West Ham’s final pre-season affair at the home of Bayer Leverkusen had a few more alarm bells ringing around the London Stadium, as the Irons’ summer preparations began with a memorable tour Down Under before descending into a nightmare.
Opening their exhibition period with three consecutive wins over Boreham Wood, Perth Glory and Tottenham Hotspur – scoring 13 goals along the way – David Moyes’s Europa Conference League winners were held to a 2-2 draw by Dagenham & Redbridge before being put to the sword by Rennes and Bayer Leverkusen.
Following a 3-1 loss to Ligue 1 powerhouses Rennes in their penultimate pre-season affair, Moyes’s side were hit for four against Leverkusen courtesy of Robert Andrich, Jonas Hofmann, Victor Boniface and Thilo Kehrer’s own goal, and talk of a potential relegation scrap is already circulating.
Continued uncertainty over Moyes’s future and failure to bring in a single new player since the start of July is also threatening to derail West Ham’s season plans further, and while the Irons’ continental feats last term were admirable, their Premier League away form took a turn for the worse, as they lost their final four top-flight games on the road last season.
However, West Ham’s most recent Premier League away success was a 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth towards the end of April, prior to which Moyes’s side had also claimed a 2-0 win at the London Stadium in October, extending their victorious streak over their South Coast counterparts to three matches.
Iraola has been handed an unenviable list of fitness concerns ahead of his Premier League inauguration, and the Cherries are sure to be without new signing Alex Scott, Marcus Tavernier, Antoine Semenyo (calf) and Ryan Fredericks (calf) for Saturday’s affair.
The Cherries boss has also conceded that Adam Smith and Lloyd Kelly will not be ready for the opening weekend due to muscle problems, while Dominic Solanke and Ryan Christie both missed the win over Lorient for precautionary reasons, but the pair should be given the green light to line up here.
With Smith, Fredericks and Kelly all nursing injuries, Jaidon Anthony will seemingly start the campaign on the right-hand side for Bournemouth, while Neto Moura is winning the battle for the gloves over Inter Milan loanee Ionut Radu for the time being.
In contrast, West Ham’s medical room is empty ahead of the opening weekend, but the visiting fanbase have since been rocked by reports of Manchester City’s supposed interest in playmaker Lucas Paqueta, who played 45 minutes of their loss to Leverkusen.
However, the Hammers have managed to rebuff interest in the Brazilian for the time being, and there is no reason why he should not feature from the off on Saturday, while Moyes could soon welcome Harry Maguire and James Ward-Prowse to the club as his latest recruits.
Whether deals for either man will be finalised before the start of the term remains to be seen, so Flynn Downes might retain his place in the middle alongside Tomas Soucek for the time being, as new arrival Edson Alvarez is short of match fitness.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Neto; Anthony, Senesi, Zabarnyi, Kerkez; Cook, Rothwell; Brooks, Billing, Ouattara; Solanke
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Emerson; Paqueta, Soucek, Downes; Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma
We say: Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham United
Given West Ham’s worrying defensive displays in pre-season, Iraola’s attack-minded Bournemouth can carve out plenty of openings against Moyes’s backline, but injuries on the hosts’ end will hardly do them any favours either.
The Cherries should certainly be backed to end their three-game scoreless streak against West Ham, but the Irons tend to find the back of the net for fun in this fixture too, and a newly-formed Bournemouth rearguard may also be breached a couple of times in an entertaining stalemate.
