2019-20 Premier League: Week 25 – West Ham United vs Brighton

West Ham United look to avoid three consecutive home defeats in a week as they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the London Stadium. 

West Ham know that a win will see them move above Brighton, whereas the Seagulls will remain in 15th with victory and potentially move five points clear of the relegation zone.

 

Team news

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West Ham have no fresh injury concerns to report from Wednesday’s loss to Liverpool. 

Ryan Fredericks, Michail Antonio (both hamstring), Felipe Anderson (ribs), Andriy Yarmolenko (thigh) and Jack Wilshire (groin) are all ruled out until after the winter break. 

Brighton could have Jose Izquierdo available for his first appearance of this season, having been sidelined since May with a serious knee injury. 

Dan Burn (shoulder), Shane Duffy (shin) and Leon Balogun (quad) all remain ruled out. 

 

Form

West Ham enter this match off the back of two home defeats in the past week in two different competitions, although they have taken four points from three home league games in January back under David Moyes (W1, D1, L1).

Brighton enter this match with five points from their last five league matches (W1, D2, L2), but have scored in seven of their last eight away trips. 

 

Stat Attack

• West Ham are winless in five previous Premier League (PL) meetings against Brighton (D2, L3). 
• Two of Brighton’s last three goals in this fixture have come from midfield (Dale Stephens – January 2019, Leandro Trossard – August 2019). 
• Glenn Murray has scored Brighton’s only penalty in this PL fixture, which came in their first trip here in October 2017.
• There has been no red cards in five previous PL clashes between these two teams. 
• Trossard is the only Brighton player to have hit the woodwork on more than one occasion, doing so twice.

 

Prediction

This is a tough game for West Ham because Brighton seem to be their Achilles heel, although I can see West Ham keeping Brighton on their toes here because their attacking style will frustrate the Seagulls’ passing play. 

I therefore am unsure as to which way this game could go so am going for a draw, although I can see Brighton winning this if they can quickly impose their game and hold it throughout the match. 

Prediction: West Ham United 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Result: West Ham United 3-3 Brighton & Hove Albion