Slaven Bilic is expecting a tough afternoon for West Ham when they travel to face Bournemouth on Saturday despite the hosts' downturn in form.
The Cherries remain without a victory in any competition in 2017, last winning on New Year's Eve away at Swansea City, and have lost five of eight in the Premier League since.
The Hammers, meanwhile, are winless in three but know all claiming three points on the road this weekend could see them move back into the top half but Bilic is not preempting an easy ride.
"I expect a tough game at Bournemouth tomorrow, despite them being without Andrew Surman and Tyrone Mings, who are suspended," Bilic told Standard Sport.
"They are a very energetic team who were going well up until Christmas but in the last couple of months, because of injuries, they have struggled a bit.
"It all started to go downhill when they led Arsenal 3-0 and it finished 3-3. Then Millwall sent them out of the FA Cup.
"They earned a good point at Manchester United with 10 men last weekend and that will have given them a boost.
In Pictures | West Ham vs Chelsea | 06/03/2017
"Our away record is good but this is a new game. They’ve beaten Liverpool this season and having started so well meant that, when their dip came, they could afford a few defeats without being into the bottom three. They are not safe, though, and neither are we.
"One final piece of good news. Diafra Sakho has stepped up his training and should be with us very soon.
Monday's 2-1 loss at home to Chelsea continued West Ham's poor record against the Premier League's top six this season.
Goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa means the Hammers have taken just two points from a possible 27, and Bilic feels those challenging at the top of the table have improved from last term.
Bilic said: "We lost just once last season against the current top six in the Premier League — at Tottenham — and took 25 points from a possible 36.
"This season, with nine of those matches played we have earned just two points, having drawn at Manchester United and Liverpool.
"Conversely, our record against teams outside the top six has been better, so what is the explanation?
"First of all, most of the top teams are better — Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and City.
"Last season, the momentum was with us. We beat Arsenal away in the first game of the season and followed that with victories at Liverpool and Manchester City.
"The fact remains that, if you are talking about just those games against the top clubs, our record last season was exceptional.
"This season, we have done well to earn a point apiece from Liverpool and United. We could — and should — have won at Spurs again, we lost 2-0 to United but having played with 10 men for most of the game and Chelsea scored in the final minutes at Stamford Bridge. So it could easily have been much better.
"The two games that were poor for us were against Manchester City and Arsenal, both at home. Next season, I do expect us to do much better against those top teams."
