West Ham United kick-off their 2024/25 Carabao Cup campaign with a second round tie at home to AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday evening.
Julen Lopetegui’s side enter the competition at the second round stage for the first time since 2020, having made their bow in the third round in recent seasons due to involvement in European competition. The Irons are two-time EFL Cup finalists - finishing as runners-up to West Bromwich Albion in 1966 and Liverpool in 1981.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, sit 14th in the early Premier League table, on two points from two matches played so far. The Cherries reached the fourth round of the competition in both of the last two campaigns, also losing to Liverpool last season, and finalists Newcastle the year before.
Lopetegui Looks To Evaluate New Signings
Tonight’s League Cup match against AFC Bournemouth at The London Stadium offers West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui an ideal chance to evaluate his new signings.
While I’m usually against making too many changes for cup games, which I believe should be taken seriously, the depth of the current squad allows the Hammers to rotate the line-up without significantly compromising quality.
With the season still in its early stages, some players have had to be patient, and I’m particularly excited to see Crysencio Summerville in action. The £25 million signing from Leeds didn’t feature in the recent win against Crystal Palace, but I’m confident he’ll get substantial playing time tonight.
Fullkrug And Todibo Seeking Opportunities
Niclas Füllkrug has also been waiting for his opportunity after playing second fiddle to Michail Antonio. This Carabao Cup tie is the perfect moment to showcase his abilities. Jean-Clair Todibo may face the toughest challenge, given West Ham’s recent clean sheet at Selhurst Park, a rare achievement. Konstantinos Mavropanos is likely to keep his spot for the upcoming Premier League clash against Manchester City, so Todibo will be eager to make his mark and challenge the starting centre-back duo.
Luis Guilherme Looking To Break Through
Lastly, there’s Luis Guilherme. The young Brazilian, who was West Ham’s first signing of the transfer window, has had limited chances to shine. Aside from a few pre-season games, the 18-year-old has been on the periphery, but tonight could be his opportunity to earn a spot on the bench for the Manchester City game.
Overall, I’m looking forward to this match and believe that including these players won’t significantly harm our chances. The West Ham bench will be filled with game-changing talent if needed, though I expect Bournemouth to provide a tricky challenge.
A Chance For Cup Glory
West Ham tonight host Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup as we look to get our hunt for the next trophy off to a positive start.
As there is no European competition in east London this season, which has been a feature for the previous 3 campaigns, its felt that the club will now be prioritising the domestic cup competitions this season, with undoubtedly a squad capable of mounting a real challenge.
Julen Lopetegui's side though have not been handed the kindest of draws, with fellow Premier League side Bournemouth no doubt in the same mindset of seeing this as a competition to prioritise.
West Ham Expected To Field Strong Side
West Ham are expected to field a strong side, with the Head Coach hinting that the new arrivals who have been eager to impress will likely be given starting roles in the team.
West Ham Looking To Impress With New Arrivals
Julen Lopetegui has named his West Ham United starting lineup for the Carabao Cup clash with Bournemouth tonight.
Annoyingly, Peter Bankes will referee the West Ham vs Bournemouth Carabao Cup clash tonight, in spite of his horrendous showings when officiating our matches in the past.
The atmosphere emanating from the London Stadium right now is an incredibly positive one, after our 2-0 win over Palace four days ago.
Lopetegui has brought eight new players to the club this summer, and the Hammers fans have very high expectations for the season ahead.
A good cup run would lift the spirits even further still, so what starting lineup has Lopetegui named?
I really want to see some big improvements in our system tonight, when it comes to patterns of play.
Lopetegui has certainly named a team capable of beating Bournemouth, in spite of the numerous changes to the lineup
Here’s how the Hammers boss has decided to set up tonight, as confirmed via the club’s official X account:
Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman, Aaron Cresswell, Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Tomas Soucek, Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen, Niclas Fullkrug
Eight changes is a lot from one match to the next, but so many players needed a chance to prove their worth tonight.
That’s a really exciting starting XI, and I cannot wait to see the likes of Summerville, Wan-Bissaka and Todibo in action.
A win tonight would be a the ideal preparation for our Premier League clash with Manchester City on Saturday.
And I think that West Ham will do exactly that after seeing the starting lineup selected by Lopetegui.
COYI X The West Ham Way
Key Players To Watch
Jarrod Bowen, captain and direct goalscorer for the Hammers last season, will be the London club's Top Player. The 27-year-old midfielder scored 16 goals and provided six assists in the 23/24 Premier League, scored twice in the last EFL Cup and in the Europa League he had one goal and four assists. The Englishman's numbers were really good and, as a result, he earned the chance to play in the European Championship with his country. Of the seven matches played by his national team, he played in the first two and then did not play again. However, to ratify his good present, the former Hull City scored the final 2-0 against Crystal Palace.
Antoine Semenyo, second top scorer of the team last season and direct participant of the two goals of the “Cherries” in this Premier League. The 24-year-old striker scored eight goals and provided two assists in the 23/24 edition of the league and now set up the 1-1 final against Nottingham Forest and assisted Marcus Tavernier in the 1-0 lead against Newcastle. In his eight-year career, the Ghanaian scored 37 goals and provided 26 assists in 213 games played.
The Recent History Of The Two Teams
These two teams met 20 times over the years between Premier League, Championship, FA Cup, EFL Cup and friendly matches. Of the total, West Ham won eight times, Bournemouth had five victories and the remaining seven were draws. The last meeting was on February 1 this year, also at the Olympic Stadium in London. The final result was a 1-1 draw with goals from Dominic Solanke for the “Cherries” and James Ward-Prowse for the “Hammers”.
West Ham Looking To Build On Recent Victory
The “Hammers” arrive with a positive and negative result at the start of the Premier League 24/25. Despite a frustrating debut against Aston Villa with a 2 - 1 defeat, the London team changed the image visiting Crystal Palace, whom they defeated by 2 - 0. Now they will look to keep up the good performance in this home debut of the national cup. In the last edition of the EFL Cup, they started off on the right foot by beating Lincoln 3-1. Then, at home, they repeated the same result, but this time against none other than Arsenal. In the quarterfinals, West Ham's dream came to an end after a 5-1 drubbing by Liverpool.
Bournemouth Looking For Consistency
For their part, the “Cherries” come to this knockout match after a neutral start to the Premier League with two draws in a row. The work done in the preseason was good, but, both against Nottingham Forest away and Newcastle at home, the result was 1-1. In the previous edition, they started off on the right foot against Swansea with a 3-2 win with a goal in 90'+1. Then they defeated Stoke City 2-0, but the third match was the farewell. Like West Ham, Liverpool was the executioner in the EFL Cup: defeat by 2 to 1.
A Look At The London Stadium
The EFL Cup Round 2 match between West Ham and Bournemouth will take place at the London Stadium, formerly known as the London Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the British capital. It was the main stadium for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It has a maximum capacity of up to 68,013 spectators.
The Match Preview
My name is Gianluca Pantano and I will be hosting the match. We will bring you pre-match analysis, score updates and live news here on VAVEL.
Conclusion
West Ham will be looking to build on their recent victory over Crystal Palace and make a strong start to their Carabao Cup campaign. Bournemouth will be hoping to cause an upset and progress to the next round. This match promises to be a fascinating encounter between two Premier League sides.
