Brighton look to keep their hopes of European qualification alive in a crucial Premier League clash against West Ham.
Victory will lift Brighton up to eighth if Fulham fail to win elsewhere, whilst West Ham will mathematically guarantee their top-flight survival if avoid defeat irrespective of what Ipswich achieve at Newcastle.
Team News
Jan Paul van Hecke is ruled out for Brighton after he suffered a concussion during their 4-2 loss at Brentford last weekend.
Joel Veltman (foot) could return but the Seagulls will be without Joao Pedro after the Brazilian was red carded in West London.
Jason Steele (shoulder), Tariq Lamptey, Georginio Rutter (both ankle), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), Adam Webster, Igor Julio and James Milner (all hamstring) remain sidelined.
West Ham will be without Irish forward, Evan Ferguson who is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Aaron Cresswell (muscle) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (toe) could return subject to fitness checks, but Edson Alvarez is again ruled out after he missed last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home against Southampton due to a back injury.
Crysencio Summerville (hamstring) and Michail Antonio (leg) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Brighton host West Ham at AMEX Stadium on Saturday 26 April at 3pm BST, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Brighton have lost just one of their 15 previous Premier League meetings against West Ham (W6, D8, L1).
- West Ham have won just one of their seven previous Premier League visits to Brighton (W1, D2, L4).
- Brighton have kept just two clean sheets at home to West Ham in the Premier League.
- Anything less than a win would see Brighton go six league games without victory for the first time since March – April 2024.
- West Ham have won just one of seven league games away from home in 2025 (W1, D2, L4).
Prediction
Despite playing pretty decent football when able to attack at Brentford, Brighton simply were on the back foot against a more energetic team in turnovers whilst little creativity beyond crosses didn’t help at times when chasing a comeback, so I do hope to see a sharper response in this game.
West Ham meanwhile were pretty much sluggish in their draw against Southampton even after taking the lead so a huge improvement is needed if they’re to build momentum to take into next season, especially as a point here will guarantee their survival.
The Hammers’ away form though against Brighton is pretty poor but with both teams hardly in bright form, I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being a close quiet game with a point apiece which would suit West Ham.
Prediction: Brighton 1-1 West Ham
Result: Brighton 3-2 West Ham
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