West Ham’s Declan Rice takes a direct free kick at goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Southampton and West Ham United and at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, England, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)AP
The lone match on the English Premier League slate on Monday sees two clubs meddling around the middle of the league standings looking for three points, as West Ham United plays host to Bournemouth.
Bournemouth has been a feisty club over the first couple of months of their first season since being promoted from the Championship. While they have just three wins to their name thus far, the Cherries are one of six clubs with at least four draws this season, which has them sitting tied for 11th with Everton and Crystal Palace with 13 points, eight back of the top four and 15 behind league-leading Arsenal. Bournemouth acquired their fourth season defeat last Wednesday when they were clean-sheeted by Southampton. That put an end to a six-match unbeaten streak for the club, which featured wins over Nottingham Forest and Leicester City.
West Ham has been arguably one of the larger disappointments in the early going of the EPL season. Despite some omissions from last year’s squad, the Hammers find themselves in relegation territory as we move closer to the holidays. Following a loss to Liverpool last Wednesday, West Ham is tied for 16th in the table with Leicester, two points ahead of the league’s bottom three. Victories over Wolverhampton and Fulham earlier this month put some at ease over the poor start for the club, but West Ham needs to keep stringing points together if they want to avoid any rash decisions before the transfer window.
This will be just the 16th meeting between the two clubs, and the first since Bournemouth’s last season in the Premier League, with West Ham coming away victorious in January of the 2019-20 campaign.
What: English Premier League Football
Who: West Ham United FC (3-6-2) vs. AFC Bournemouth (3-4-4)
When: Monday, October 25
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Where: London Stadium (London, U.K.)
Channel: USA Network, NBC Universo