It's an all-Premier League clash at the London Stadium. New Hammers head coach Julen Lopetegui will be hoping his side can book their place in the next phase of the Carabao Cup as West Ham host Bournemouth in this second-round clash at the London Stadium.
Having claimed his first Premier League win since taking charge with Saturday's 2-0 victory away at Crystal Palace, Lopetegui looks likely to run the rule over his fringe players for this fixture, with the likes of James Ward Prowse and recent signing Crysencio Summerville likely to start for the hosts.
The Cherries meanwhile come into this cup tie off the back of a creditable draw with Newcastle in the EPL. Boss Andoni Iraola will be keen to see his side improve upon their recent showings in the this tournament, with the Cherries having never gone further than the fourth round over the last five seasons.
West Ham welcome Bournemouth to east London in the Carabao Cup and the club has confirmed four new signings are likely to start as Julen Lopetegui rotates his squad.
West Ham are not used to being in the Carabao Cup at this stage in recent years. Three years of being in Europe has meant the Hammers have not been entering until the third round.
But failure to seal a fourth consecutive season of football on the continent means West Ham will welcome Premier League rivals Bournemouth to the London Stadium on Wednesday night.
New Hammers head coach Julen Lopetegui has worked alongside technical director Tim Steidten to pull off one of the best windows in West Ham’s history. On paper at least.
Much focus has been on Lopetegui’s team selection so far. The Spaniard left Hammers fans bemused and disappointed by selecting just two of his eight new signings in the opening day defeat to Aston Villa.
When he named the same team for the trip to Palace last time out, supporters were starting to worry.
But, after riding their luck, West Ham got their first win of the Lopetegui era as two of the old guard, Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek, secured the win.
New signings Max Kilman, Guido Rodriguez and – as a second half substitute – Aaron Wan-Bissaka were key to the win, though.
Now the Hammers are back at home against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup – a competition they can realistically look to try and win with their new-look squad. The attendance is expected to top 50,000 for the match thanks to the club putting a reasonable price point in place.
And they are set to be treated to seeing many of their summer arrivals it seems. Because West Ham have confirmed an £84m new quartet are likely to start against Bournemouth as Lopetegui rotates.
In West Ham’s official preview for the clash, it has been confirmed that Lopetegui is likely to rotate his squad. And there looks set to be starts for new £30m centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo and £15m right-back Wan-Bissaka. Meanwhile £26m Crysencio Summerville – who looked super sharp against Villa but was an unused sub against Palace – and £23m striker Niclas Fullkrug will be in attack. It is also suggested that Edson Alvarez and Lukasz Fabianski will also start the game against the Cherries.
“After a busy start to the Premier League season, manager Julen Lopetegui could take the opportunity to rotate his squad for Wednesday’s cup clash, having opted to bed his new signings in slowly, naming the same starting XI for both top-flight outings so far,” West Ham state in the official preview for the game.
“Jean-Clair Todibo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Niclas Füllkrug and Crysencio Summerville could all start after making their West Ham debuts from the bench, while Lukasz Fabianski will be hoping for minutes in goal.
“Edson Alvarez returned from the bench in Saturday’s win at Crystal Palace, and could be handed some valuable game time.”
Lopetegui's New-Look Hammers
Jean-Clair Todibo and Niclas Füllkrug make their Carabao Cup debuts in West Ham United’s second-round tie against AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday evening. The French defender and German striker both make their first starts for the Club at London Stadium, having made impacts off the bench in the Hammers’ opening two Premier League matches.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Crysencio Summerville will also make their full West Ham debuts after joining the Club earlier this month from Manchester United and Leeds United respectively.
Indeed, Head Coach Julen Lopetegui has rotated his squad as expected, with only four of the players who started against Crystal Palace in the Spaniard’s starting XI this evening. Łukasz Fabiański, James Ward-Prowse and Edson Álvarez are the other changes from the Hammers’ 2-0 win at Selhurst Park. Goalkeeper Fabiański is set to make his 200th appearance between the sticks, and his first since starting the Irons’ Premier League defeat at Crystal Palace on 21 April. Ahead of Fabiański, Wan-Bissaka and Vladimír Coufal start at right-back and left-back respectively, either side of Maximilian Kilman and Todibo in central defence.
In midfield, Mexico international Álvarez makes his first start of the season, after recovering from a hamstring injury to feature from the substitutes' bench against Palace at the weekend Álvarez is partnered in the middle by James Ward-Prowse, who also makes his first start of the 2024/25 campaign after an impressive debut campaign in Claret and Blue. Captain Jarrod Bowen could start on the right, as he did against Palace, with Tomáš Souček filling the No10 position and Summerville on the left wing.
Füllkrug, who scored 16 goals for Borussia Dortmund last season, including scoring the decisive goal in BVB’s 1-0 semi-final first leg win against Paris St-Germain, looks for his first in Hammers colours as he leads the line in east London.
A strong bench is named too by Lopetegui, with seasoned internationals Lucas Paquetá, Mohammed Kudus, Michail Antonio, Emerson, Guido Rodríguez and Dinos Mavropanos to call upon. Wes Foderingham, Andy Irving and Luis Guilherme complete the matchday squad.
Carabao Cup Preview
Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live wherever you are in the world.
This Carabao Cup second round tie between West Ham United and Bournemouth takes place at the London Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. local time in the UK (2:45 p.m. ET, 11:45 a.m. PT in the US; and 4:45 a.m. AEDT on Thursday, Aug. 29, in Australia).
West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui saw his side claim their first Premier League victory of the season at the weekend, with a 0-2 away win against London rivals Crystal Palace.
Carabao Cup matches are streaming exclusively live in the US on ESPN Plus. ESPN's standalone streaming service costs $11 a month or $110 for an annual subscription. With it, you'll be able to watch EFL Cup action, as well all of this season's FA Cup fixtures. Read our ESPN Plus review.
If you find yourself unable to view the game locally, you may need a different way to watch this match -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month with code SPECIALDEAL, which should be automatically applied.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live broadcast rights for the Carabao Cup in the UK are with Sky Sports. Wednesday's match will be shown on its new Sky Sports Plus service. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the game via its Sky Sports app on mobile, however its worth noting that Sky Sports Plus content cannot currently be watched via Sky Go on games consoles, laptops or PCs.
Cord-cutters will meanwhile want to get set up with a Now account, and a Now Sports membership, to stream the game.
Sky subsidiary Now (formerly Now TV) offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get a day of access for £12, or sign up to a monthly plan from £35 per month right now.
If you want to stream the EFL Cup live in Canada, you'll need to subscribe to DAZN Canada. The service has exclusive broadcast rights to this match as well as every UEFA Champions League and Europa League match this season.
A DAZN subscription currently costs CA$30 a month or CA$200 a year and will also give you access to the Champions League, Europa League and EFL Championship soccer, plus Six Nations rugby and WTA tennis.
As well as dedicated apps for iOS and Android, there's a wide range of support for set-top boxes and smart TVs.
Football fans Down Under can watch the EFL Cup on streaming service beIN Sports. beIN Sports is available via pay TV packages such as Foxtel, but cord-cutters can also sign up to beIN Sports as a standalone streaming subscription.
Priced at AU$15 per month or AU$130 for an annual subscription, beIN is currently offering a free one-week trial. As well as Carabao Cup action, a subscription will also give you access to Ligue 1, Serie A, Bundesliga and EFL football coverage.
Irons Face Controversial Referee
Bankes has officiated several West Ham matches, and his decisions have often been the subject of justified criticism from fans and pundits. His inconsistent performances and questionable calls have raised concerns about his ability to officiate fairly.
Remember the 2-2 draw against Newcastle last season? How about the 2-1 defeat against Brentford? Also the incorrectly awarded Tottenham penalty during our 1-1 draw at the London Stadium during the 2022/23 season, only for it to be overturned by VAR.
The appointment of Bankes for this match is likely to cause some raised eyebrows among West Ham supporters. The club has faced numerous controversial refereeing decisions in recent years, and Bankes’ presence could add a few additional nerves ahead of the game.
The 42-year-old has taken charge of 10 of our games and it does not come as a surprise that we’ve won only three of them! During those games, he’s also handed out 18 yellow cards to West Ham players
West Ham will need to be prepared for potential challenges from the referee and focus on playing their own game. Despite the challenges potentially posed by Bankes’ officiating, The mighty Irons have the ability to overcome adversity and secure a victory in this EFL Cup match.
Bournemouth's Injury Update
Andoni Iraola provided an update on the team’s fitness to the media ahead of Wednesday's game.
“I think the ones who played there haven't been any new injuries,” he said. “Probably we have some tired legs, that is something normal.
“But we've prioritised, and we will prioritise this week the recovery process and we hope everyone is ready.
“We have one or two situations, one with illness. Every week we have someone that we don't know if he will be able to travel.
“And another player, Philip [Billing], with the back. That's the reason he wasn't in the squad the other day.
“Let's see how he trains this afternoon and if he has a chance to be involved tomorrow.
“But the rest, I think will be available.”
Asked about the strength of his side, with the prospect of a number of changes, Iraola said: “It's not we are strong or weak, depending on who we put in the starting lineup.
“You can put the same starting lineup and go very weak because they are not ready for the challenge and you can change a lot and be very strong.
“We will obviously need some fresh legs for sure. For sure we will make some changes. But I haven't still decided on the starting eleven.
“I haven't because it's such a quick turnaround that I want to see them, see how they are feeling and feel it to make the last decisions.”
Cherries cannot talk about a cup run before their opening Carabao Cup game against high quality opposition in West Ham.
The Big Match
Meanwhile, their opponents are 6/5 outsiders to upset the applecart at London Stadium and progress to the third round.
In addition to the market outlined above, read on as we dissect four Price Boosts on offer courtesy of Sky Bet.
West Ham's James Ward-Prowse to score from outside the area tonight price boosted to 12/1
The first two boosts include Niclas Fullkrug to score in 90 minutes at 2/1, and for it to be a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes at 8/1.
Fullkrug scored 15 goals across all competitions last season, while both meetings between these two sides in the Premier League in 2023-24 resulted in 1-1 draws.
Meanwhile, the other two boosts available are for James Ward-Prowse to score from outside the area in 90 minutes at 12/1, and Tomas Soucek to score a header in 90 minutes at 14/1.
Ward-Prowse has the second-most goals from free kicks in Premier League history with 17 - just one behind overall leader David Beckham - while Soucek has scored 22 headed goals throughout his career to date.
Sky Bet odds in Winner of Tie market for West Ham vs Bournemouth (Carabao Cup):
West Ham 8/13
Bournemouth 6/5
Sky Bet Price Boosts for West Ham vs Bournemouth:
Niclas Fullkrug to score in 90 minutes WAS 7/4 NOW 2/1
1-1 draw after 90 minutes WAS 6/1 NOW 8/1
James Ward-Prowse to score from outside the area in 90 minutes WAS 10/1 NOW 12/1
Tomas Soucek to score a header in 90 minutes WAS 11/1 NOW 14/1
