Two sides who struggled to make their mark on the Premier League last season face off on the opening weekend on Saturday as Bournemouth welcome West Ham United to the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth finished 15th in the Premier League last season in what was an undoubtedly successful campaign, with The Cherries defying the odds to secure their Premier League status for another season.
Safety was achieved under the guidance of manager Gary O'Neil, who took the reigns early in the season following Scott Parker's dismissal, but the rookie gaffer had his Bournemouth tenure brutally cut short during the summer as the board terminated his contract with immediate effect before swiftly appointing Spanish manager Andoni Iraola.
O'Neil's sacking looks harsh on the face of things but Bournemouth lost their last four consecutive games of the season under his wing and there is no guarantee that they would have kicked on if the side remained in O'Neil's hands. If there's a manager on the market that you feel is of a higher standard then it's worth making the move and that's obviously the feeling the Bournemouth board had.
Iraola is one of the most highly-rated young managers in Europe and did an excellent job in charge of Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
Iraola deploys a high-pressing, aggressive playing style that many feel will suit English football so there's a lot of optimism surrounding his appointment.
The Cherries have had an interesting summer in terms of transfers having brought in Hungarian left-back Milos Kerkez from AZ Alkmaar, attacking midfielder Hamed Traorè from Sassuolo, winger Justin Kluivert from Roma, right-back Max Aarons from Norwich and midfielder Alex Scott from Bristol City- French winger Romain Faivre has also been brought in from Lyon but he's been immediately loaned to Lorient for the entirety of the season.
Midfielder Jefferson Lerma left for Crystal Palace on a free transfer but Bournemouth have not been rocked by any other major departures so most will view this window as a success thus far.
The Cherries are going to be one of the most interesting sides to follow in the league this season with their potential floor and their potential ceiling likely quite far apart given they've made what many regard as a risky managerial appointment backed by a few risky signings.
It does feel as though they're going to be much closer to their ceiling than their floor, however, with their squad building clearly following a specific method and Iraola more likely to prove a hit than a miss.
With a new manager in charge it's important Bournemouth get off to a good start to keep the fans on side in what will likely be a working progress so three points is quite important here.
West Ham United are coming off the back of an elated season having won their first ever European trophy following an 2-1 win over Fiorentina in Prague in the Europa Conference League final in what was one of the greatest nights in the club's history.
Domestically, though, the campaign was nowhere near as rewarding with The Hammers finishing 14th in the league having spent a large chunk of the campaign deep in the relegation battle.
As such, they now enter this campaign amidst an air of trepidation after star man and captain Declan Rice departed the club in the summer in a high profile £105m transfer to Arsenal.
The main concern comes from the fact that not only have West Ham failed to sign a replacement for Rice but they've failed to make a single first team signing altogether.
Even worse is that the main rumoured incomings this summer are Harry Maguire, James Ward-Prowse and Scott McTominay. All good players in isolation, sure, but as a collective they leave a lot to be desired in terms of craft and guile and given the collective fee would amount to the majority of the Rice money the age profile of the three is not brilliant, with Maguire, Ward-Prowse and McTominay all turning 31, 29 and 27 this season.
West Ham are desperately in need of some attacking inspiration and with Lucas Paquetá the subject of strong links to to Manchester City this week they could be looking extremely light in terms of offensive craft.
Recent preseason results have also been a concern for The Hammers with a 2-2 draw with Dagenham & Redbridge preceding a 3-1 loss to Rennes and a 4-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.
Safe to say, then, that West Ham fans are not coming into this season with excitement and optimism but more concern at the direction of their club.
Should The Hammers begin the campaign in a similar fashion to last season then the fans could soon turn on the board and even on manager David Moyes.
For our Bournemouth vs. West Ham prediction, we're going for a 2-1 win for the home side.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.