Brighton & Hove Albion welcome West Ham to the AMEX Stadium on the final day of 2021-22 Premier League season.
Victory could see Graham Potter’s Seagulls finish as high as eighth if Wolves and Leicester both lose elsewhere,
West Ham meanwhile will finish sixth and qualify for next season’s Europa League with a win if Manchester United fail to win at Crystal Palace.
Team News
Enock Mwepu is set to return for Brighton after recovering from a groin injury.
Jeremy Sarmiento (hamstring) and Jakub Moder (knee) remain absent.
West Ham could welcome Said Benrahma back into contention after he missed last Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Manchester City with an ankle injury.
Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna (knee) are ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Brighton are yet to lose to West Ham in nine previous Premier League meetings (W3, D6).
- West Ham are yet to keep a clean sheet in four away matches against Brighton (D2, L2).
- Each of the last six meetings between Brighton and West Ham have resulted in draws, of which three matches finished 1-1 – in which two of those three 1-1 results came at the AMEX Stadium.
- Leandro Trossard has been involved in 11 of Brighton’s 39 league goals this season with eight goals and three assists.
- No West Ham player has made more tackles in the defensive third of the pitch this season in the Premier League than Declan Rice (41).
Prediction
With eighth place still up for grabs following one of Brighton’s best seasons in a while, I would like to see the Seagulls continue to show the same attacking quality as seen in recent weeks, even though their defending at Leeds last weekend was quite scrappy at times which was ultimately punished late on.
West Ham meanwhile shouldn’t feel disappointed with their 2-2 draw against Man City last weekend because they showed excellent organisational discipline in the first-half, yet were unable to maintain that quality after the break with some defensive errors.
This fixture though seems to be a draw magnet so I am expecting both teams to fight hard in what should be a tense but exciting fixture, yet if Man Utd are losing at Palace then the West Ham fans could well prove crucial as the 12th man in the closing stages to chase a win.
I though feel that a draw would be a likely yet fair result for both teams.
Prediction: Brighton 1-1 West Ham
Result: Brighton 3-1 West Ham