Opinion from the stands

West Ham best XI v Bournemouth

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OPINION

West Ham United are no doubt sky-high on confidence after narrowly beating Arsenal 1-0 last Saturday, and they will go into this weekend’s clash against Bournemouth hoping to repeat the same.

Declan Rice secured all three points for the Hammers in what was his first goal for the club, and it was a result that took them to an impressive ninth place in the Premier League table.

The Irons will also be hoping to avenge the 2-1 defeat to the Cherries at the Vitality in August with a win this weekend, but in order to do so, Manuel Pellegrini must make two changes to the side that beat Arsenal.

Michail Antonio and Samir Nasri must make way this time so that Pellegrini can field the strongest team possible.

In goal, Lukasz Fabianski must start as normal.

In the defence, nothing should be changed, partly due to the fact that centre-back Fabian Balbuena is still sidelined with injury and Pellegrini has no other choice but to field Angelo Ogbonna.

In midfield, keeping Declan Rice in the starting XI is definitely a no-brainer after his impressive exploits on Saturday, while Mark Noble should keep his place alongside him having forged a great partnership with the 20-year-old.

However, it is the attacking midfield where the manager must make the two changes. Antonio was woeful against the Gunners, so the £70,000-a-week [Spotrac] player must be axed from his spot on the right in order to accommodate Grady Diangana, who is a far more reliable option.

Despite the fact that winter signing Samir Nasri showed his old club what they were missing on Saturday, the 31-year-old needs to be dropped for this match. Robert Snodgrass should come in his place due to his fantastic form this season, although that does not stop Pellegrini bringing on Nasri later on.

Felipe Anderson must continue working his magic in the role just behind the striker, with Marko Arnautovic leading the line.

Should Pellegrini make the right choices in terms of his starting line up, then his team would have the quality to crush Bournemouth easily.

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