The stars may be aligning for Nuno Espirito Santo to haul West Ham out of the relegation zone as Bournemouth are rocked by a big Antoine Semenyo blow.
The Hammers head to the south coast on Saturday to take on the Cherries in rare good form.
Nuno Espirito Santo led a revival before the international break as West Ham won back-to-back Premier League games against Newcastle and Burnley, scoring six goals in the process.
That drew West Ham level on points with Burnley in the safety of 17th but they remained in the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference.
Hammers have chance to leap out of bottom three
Now the Hammers have a golden chance to rise up the table as the Premier League action resumes at Bournemouth.
Andoni Iraola’s side had been one of the success stories of the season so far, rising as high as second in the table.
But consecutive defeats to Man City and Aston Villa have put a dent in Bournemouth’s charge.
Another win for West Ham at the Vitality would lift Nuno’s side up to 14th and within striking distance of mid-table.
West Ham will have to do without Lucas Paqueta for the game after he picked up a one-game ban for five yellow cards in the win over Burnley.
Nuno will also have to assess Freddie Potts, who suffered a dead leg in the Burnley win but is expected to be fit to start again.
While West Ham face a dilemma over who replaces Paqueta in the side, the Cherries have an even bigger issue.
Because West Ham have received a monumental three-in-a-row boost as Bournemouth are rocked by a blow to Antoine Semenyo.
West Ham get monumental three-in-a-row boost
Ghana star Semenyo has been a force to be reckoned with for Bournemouth again so far this season.
Semenyo has been so good he is attracting interest from a host of top clubs ahead of the January window with the winger expected to leave Bournemouth after having a £65m release clause inserted in a new deal he signed recently.
Semenyo has scored six goals in 11 Premier League appearances so far this season, averaging 0.55 goals per 90 minutes.
That puts him among the top forwards in terms of efficiency. He is not just a goal threat for West Ham to worry about, though, as he has contributed three assists too, giving him a goal involvement rate of 0.82 per 90 minutes.
Semenyo is clearly the number one threat to West Ham making it three wins in a row.
So the Hammers and Nuno will be relieved to hear the powerful and pacy attacker looks set to miss the game against them.
Semenyo left the Ghana camp early ahead of their friendly against South Korea in midweek.
According to the Ghana Football Association, the Bournemouth winger has suffered a left anterior talo-fibula ligament sprain, which was aggravated during a game against Japan during the November break.
Injured Semenyo looks set to miss West Ham clash
The ligament Semenyo has injured is the one that connects the ankle to the shin bone and there is usually no quick fix for such an issue.
Given his huge value to Bournemouth ahead of the January transfer window, it would be highly unlikely any risks would be taken with Semenyo.
So it seems Bournemouth’s star player will be missing against West Ham.
The likes of Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo will be sleeping a touch easier on Friday night.
The news gives Nuno and his side a huge boost and serious encouragement that three-in-a-row is do-able.
They say timing is everything and with a daunting run of fixtures on the horizon, this is a gift horse West Ham cannot afford to look in the mouth.
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