Premier League 2018/19: Four bold predictions ahead of Matchday 2

West Ham vs Bournemouth will steal the show

Liverpool FC v West Ham United - Premier League

Speaking of teams who have a lot of new players, West Ham got off to an inauspicious start at Anfield last week. A trip to Liverpool is daunting for any team at the moment, nevermind one that’s plucked a new identity out of thin air this summer.

To judge this West Ham project on that game though would be foolish. It’s the games against the likes of Bournemouth where we’ll truly see if progress is being made.

This could be a game of two attacking teams just going at it with all they have. Manuel Pellegrini will expect his new midfielders and attackers to enjoy more of the ball than they did last week. The likes of Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko would certainly fancy themselves more against Bournemouth’s rather tender backline.

Yet, we can’t dismiss Eddie Howe’s side entirely. A routine win over Cardiff, helped by a stellar performance from Callum Wilson, was a great way to start the season. Whatever fear they may have of the big, expensive names in West Ham’s line-up will be mitigated by the obvious deficiencies in their defence. This Bournemouth team will back themselves every time.

As a result, we could see a very open match. The goals might not fly in, but I’m certain both are going to try their damnedest.