Premier League 2019/20 – West Ham vs Bournemouth – Tactical Analysis

The beginning of a new decade brought us an English Premier League matchup between bottom half teams AFC Bournemouth and West Ham United. Days earlier West Ham brought back former manager David Moyes to reinvigorate an underperforming squad and employ a healthy dose of winning tactics.  Bournemouth are in a similar situation of underperformance, but like the last eight years, they continue to place their trust in Eddie Howe. After analysis, we see that West Ham came away from the match with a big boost of confidence heading into the new year.

How did West Ham inflict such a jolting loss on Bournemouth? This tactical analysis will look at exactly how it was done.

Lineups

West Ham: out of possession

West Ham entered the match anticipating that Bournemouth would build-out of the back when in possession. To counter Bournemouth’s attacking tactics, Moyes set West Ham in a 4-4-1-1 when out of possession. While in this formation, West Ham prioritized restricting central passing options and using specific pressing triggers to initiate a full unit press. This proved to be quite effective

West Ham did not press at all times but employed two main pressing triggers of a) a Bournemouth defender commits a bad first touch and b) a Bournemouth defender receives the ball with their back to the field. By pressing as a unit in these specific moments, West Ham set themselves up to pressure the Bournemouth players when the conditions were favourable. When pressing triggers did not present themselves West Ham were content to retain their compact 4-4-1-1 shape and allow the Bournemouth centrebacks to possess the ball.