West Ham vs. Brighton
Venue: London Stadium
Kick off: 3:15PM
West Ham United will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the London Stadium this afternoon.
The Hammers, who lost 3-0 at Chelsea on Monday night, have dropped down into 10th position in the table, while Brighton currently sit 17th, just two points clear of the relegation zone.
All things considered, it has been a successful opening to the season for West Ham, who have picked up 21 points from their 14 matches, boasting a record of six wins, three draws and five defeats.
David Moyes’s side are currently 10th in the table, just five points behind fourth-placed Everton, but the capital side are also just three points clear of 13th-placed Crystal Palace, which is an indication of how quickly things could change in this season’s unpredictable Premier League.
The Hammers have only actually won one of their last four matches, drawing 1-1 with Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on December 16 before losing 3-0 at Chelsea on Monday night.
West Ham, who face back-to-back away matches with Southampton and Everton after this contest, have somewhat surprisingly failed to beat Brighton in the Premier League, losing three and drawing three of their six previous meetings with the Seagulls at this level of football.
Brighton, meanwhile, will enter today’s contest off the back of successive draws with Fulham and Sheffield United, which followed defeats to Southampton and Leicester City.
The Seagulls have not won in the league since overcoming Aston Villa on November 21, and a return of 12 points from 14 matches has left them in 17th spot, just two points outside of the relegation zone.
Graham Potter’s side continue to draw admiring glances with their style of football, but it does appear that the club will be in a relegation battle this season, having found it difficult to translate performances into results.
Brighton’s recent record against West Ham will hand them confidence, though, and they have actually performed better on their travels this season, picking up eight of their 12 points away from the Amex.
West Ham United possible XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek; Fornals, Benrahma, Bowen, Haller.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible XI: Sanchez, White, Dunk, Webster, Veltman, Bissouma, Lallana, March, Maupay, Connolly, Trossard.