West Ham take a trip down to the south coast on Friday Evening, looking to make it back to back wins in the Premier League for the first time this season with victory against Brighton.
The Hammers head into the match on the back of a fantastic week. A draw to Chelsea followed by wins against Macclesfield and Manchester United have given the West Ham fans plenty of encouragement ahead of their trip to the Amex Stadium.
Chris Hughton’s side will be looking to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City last weekend, but the Seagulls have been struggling of late.
Without a win in their last six games, Brighton will be looking to make amends against a confident, free flowing West Ham side who seem to be up and running after their horrendous start.
Although the Hammers are unbeaten in their last four matches across all competitions, the bookies still have Brighton as favourites to win the match at 6/4, while the visitors sit at 9/5.
West Ham currently sit one place above Brighton in the league, occupying 14th and 15th place respectively – separated by just two points.
TEAM NEWS
Pascal Gross remains side-lined, but Dale Stephens is close to returning for the hosts and a late decision will be made on him.
West Ham remain without Winston Reid, Andy Carroll and Manuel Lanzini.
Carlos Sanchez will miss the rest of the season with an injury he picked up against Macclesfield, and Jack Wilshere will also miss out with an ankle injury.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
03 Mar 2018 – Brighton 3-1 West Ham
20 Oct 2017 – West Ham 0-3 Brighton
14 Apr 2012 – West Ham 6-0 Brighton
24 Oct 2011 – Brighton 0-1 West Ham
DID YOU KNOW?
- Brighton are without a clean sheet in their last 15 games.
- Manuel Pellegrini has never lost to Chris Hughton in his managerial career.
- Referee Kevin Friend gives out an average of 3.6 yellow cards per match in the Premier League.
- 18% of Brighton’s Premier League goals last season came against the Hammers.
ONE TO WATCH: Glenn Murray
The 35-year-old striker has already bagged himself four goals from seven Premier League matches this season and will be looking to add to his tally on Friday.
Murray looks to be well on his way to surpassing the figures he reached last season (12 goals) and could be a real handful for the Hammers defence.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
SCORE PREDICTION
Brighton (Knockheart, Murray) 2-2 West Ham (Anderson, Noble)