West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui has said that striker Michail Antonio will return to the pitch in the future after a serious car accident last Saturday.
The 34-year-old suffered a lower limb fracture after the incident, but Lopetegui was positive about his condition.
“The most important thing is that he is alive, he is good,” Lopetegui said. “He broke his femur, but he will definitely recover.
“He will need time, but the good news is he has time. If you see that the car was terrible, then we are happy.
“Despite the fact that we are unhappy because we have lost a very important player for us, in the end we are happy because he will be ready.
“Now that he is strong, he will definitely recover himself and be ready to become a player.
“The first thing you have to do is be a man and then a player.”
A trip to the south coast on Monday evening pic.twitter.com/tiU0cI0OHc
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 13, 2024
Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola, meanwhile, does not think the fact that the Cherries have started better than West Ham in the Premier League this season is relevant to Monday evening's clash between the sides.
“It's very early in the season to make these kinds of comparisons,” he said. “Now we are ahead of them, but in five days they could be level with us. If they win two, we lose two, they are with us.” .
“We are at a time of the season where you win one game, it seems like you move up three positions. If you lose, you go [down positions].
“We have to keep going and keep adding points. It's very early to start comparing.
“In terms of points we are in a good place, 24 points. She [West Ham] also stem from the recent win against Wolves. They won away at Newcastle. That's also a very difficult game to play.
“I know it will be difficult. We played two draws and one goal against them in the last minute. They will be small details.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bournemouth-Justin Kluivert
Kluivert is Bournemouth's top scorer this season with five goals in the Premier League after scoring a hat-trick of penalties against Wolves last month.
The Dutch winger has also provided two assists in the competition and averages 1.9 shots per game.
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
Bowen is level with Tomas Soucek as West Ham's top scorer this season with four league goals, but he is clear in all competitions with five in total.
The 27-year-old has both scored and assisted in nine different Premier League matches for West Ham, a record that only Paolo Di Canio (10) can better for the club.
MATCH PREDICTION: BOURNEMOUTH WINS
Bournemouth have won four of their last five home games in the Premier League (L1) this season, while they have also won their last three league games on the spin.
If they get all three points on Monday, it will be the first time since December 2023 that they have recorded four wins in a row.
The hosts have also scored 23 goals this season from an xG of 30.92, an underperformance of -7.92 that is the largest in the Premier League.
West Ham beat Wolves 2-1 at home last time out, but had lost consecutive games before that.
Julen Lopetegui's side have lost three of their last four on the road and won just one of their last seven (D2 L4) in all competitions away from home.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Bournemouth – 53.6%
Draw – 22.4%
Westham – 24%
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