West Ham United will hope to build on the point picked up at Bournemouth when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to London Stadium.
The visitors have a tremendous head-to-head record in this fixture, losing just one of their 14 Premier League meetings, but their fast start to the season has slowed up of late.
Julen Lopetegui has bought himself a little more time by picking up four points from the last six available, but he’ll know that a win here could be vital ahead of West Ham’s festive/New Year clashes with Liverpool and Manchester City.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the game.
West Ham vs Brighton H2H Results (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
West Ham |
Brighton |
|---|---|
|
Bournemouth 1-1 West Ham – 16/12/24 |
Brighton 1-3 Crystal Palace – 15/12/24 |
|
West Ham 2-1 Wolves – 09/12/24 |
Leicester 2-2 Brighton – 08/12/24 |
|
Leicester 3-1 West Ham – 03/12/24 |
Fulham 3-1 Brighton – 05/12/24 |
|
West Ham 2-5 Arsenal – 30/11/24 |
Brighton 1-1 Southampton – 29/11/24 |
|
Newcastle 0-2 West Ham – 25/11/24 |
Bournemouth 1-2 Brighton – 23/11/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
N/A – live radio commentary on BBC Radio London Sport |
|
United States |
Peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
West Ham are without the suspended Carlos Soler for the visit of Brighton – the Spaniard picking up a fifth yellow card of the season in Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.
Michail Antonio is expected to miss the rest of the season owing to injuries picked up in a road traffic accident: manager Lopetegui recently proclaimed it was a “miracle” that the 34-year-old had not been hurt more seriously.
Crysencio Summerville could come into the side for Soler, with West Ham going more attacking, but Niclas Fullkrug could also be drafted in up top with Jarrod Bowen shifting out wide.
West Ham predicted lineup vs Wolves (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Kudus, Paqueta, Summerville; Bowen.
Brighton have a number of players still on the sidelines, no doubt hampering the early season progress made by Fabian Hurzeler’s side.
Danny Welbeck has missed two of Brighton’s last three games with an ankle injury and he’ll miss the trip to the capital. Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner, Jack Hinshelwood and Solly March remain sidelined with various ailments, but Adam Webster and Matt O’Riley are training again and could be available.
Joel Veltman is fit in a boost to Albion’s defensive options.
Brighton predicted lineup vs West Ham (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Joao Pedro
The last thing this West Ham side needs is a visit from a team they have never beaten at home in the Premier League.
Yes, the Hammers have looked capable of shoring things up away from home, putting in solid performances against Newcastle and Bournemouth, but things aren’t so great when they are expected to be on the front foot.
There’s enough quality to hurt a Brighton side who have lost momentum, but Hammers fans will know there’s a longstanding mental block that is seemingly very difficult to overcome. Albion have injuries ruling out key players but could eek out a big win at London Stadium – piling more pressure on Lopetegui in the process.
Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Brighton
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