Will the Hammers end their drought against Brighton?
Still in fourth place in the Premier League, West Ham United are heading for a possible Champions League debut. However, the Hammers recently suffered two defeats in a row. Now, of all things, a kind of fearful opponent is coming to the London Stadium. The Hammers have yet to win any of their eight Premier League encounters with Brighton.
However, the Seagulls are anything but in good form. With only 14 goals conceded from 13 league games, the southerners are considered defensively strong. However, the ninth-placed team in the table has been waiting eight matchdays for another win (six draws, two defeats). Thus, in the run-up to the match between West Ham and Brighton, the odds are swinging in the Londoners’ direction.
In general, given the concrete defence of the visitors from Brighton, a spectacular match is certainly not to be expected. Considering that 12.1% of all Seagulls’ Premier League games have ended in a goalless draw, this result is also high on the agenda for this game. However, the Hammers bring a high level of efficiency with them – also when it comes to standards.
In the end, we think it is most likely that the Londoners will end their drought and record their first treble in the ninth Premier League game against the southerners.
West Ham – Statistics & current form
London-based West Ham United have never won the English championship before and are unlikely to be involved in the title race this season despite strong results.
Nevertheless, the Hammers’ chances of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in their history and finishing in the top four of the Premier League have rarely been better.
Lost two league games in a row recently
The Irons, who are currently in the Europa League after finishing sixth in pre-season and have won 13 of a possible 15 points in Group H to reach the last 16, have won seven of their first 13 league games in the Premier League and are in fourth place.
However, the Londoners have been in a bit of a rut of late, with a 3-2 home win over Liverpool at the start of November inflicting the Reds’ only league defeat to date, but then suffering two straight defeats of their own.
A landmark English week
A landmark week for the Hammers who, after beating the winless Seagulls at home for the last eight league games, face another tough task in the London derby against league leaders Chelsea on Saturday.
If long-serving coach David Moyes’ side can hold their own this week, it would clearly cement their ambitions. Meanwhile, the efficiency of West Ham’s attack, which needed few chances to score 24 goals in the league and was particularly dangerous at the set-piece, suggests that tip 1 will work against Brighton. Exactly that should also be the Irons’ big trump card against defensively very stable southern England.
Predicted West Ham line-up:
Fabianski – Cresswell – Zouma – Dawson – Johnson – Rice – Soucek – Massuaku – Benrahma – Frnals – Antonio
Last matches played by West Ham:
Premier League
11/28 2021 – Manchester City 2 – 1 West Ham
Europa League Grp. H
11/25 2021 – Rapid Vienna 0 – 2 West Ham
Premier League
11/20 2021 – Wolverhampton 1 – 0 West Ham
11/07 2021 – West Ham 3 – 2 Liverpool FC
Europa League Grp. H
11/04 2021 – KRC Genk 2 – 2 West Ham
Brighton – Statistics & current form
Brighton & Hove Albion were already represented in the Frist Division between 1979 and 1983, but it took until the 2016/17 season before they were promoted to the Premier League, which was founded in the early 1990s, for the first time as runners-up in the Championship.
Since then, the Seagulls have successfully established themselves in the upper echelons of English football, with the southerners’ concrete defence playing a major role. Under long-serving coach Graham Potter, they conceded just 46 goals last season.
The fourth worst offensive and fifth best defensive
No other team in the Premier League played 0-0 draws as often as the Seagulls, with 12.1% of all games ending with this result. The extremely defensive style of play has led to a number of sticking points in the forward play.
Brighton also currently have the fourth weakest attack in the entire Premier League with only 12 goals scored, but conversely have the fifth best defence with only 14 goals conceded.
Winless in eight straight league games
After a strong start to the campaign, which saw the Seagulls surprisingly finish top of the table with four wins from their opening five league games, Albion have now gone eight games without another win.
With “only” two defeats and six further draws, the southerners have been hard to beat time and again, but have slipped down to ninth place because of the lack of threes. The credit for their strong start to the season has almost been completely squandered, which is why the Potter team will come to London as underdogs despite their strong record against the Hammers.
Predicted Brighton line-up:
Sánchez – Cucurella – Dunk – Webster – Veltman – Bissouma – Gross – Trossard – Moder – Lamptey – Maupay
Last Brighton games:
Premier League
11/27 2021 – Brighton 0 – 0 Leeds
11/20 2021 – Aston Villa 2 – 0 Brighton
11/06 2021 – Brighton 1 – 1 Newcastle United
10/30 2021 – Liverpool FC 2 – 2 Brighton
Carabao Cup
10/27 2021 – Leicester (4)2 – 2(2) Brighton
West Ham – Brighton Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
Head to head: 18 – 19 – 18
There have been a total of 55 meetings between the two teams and the record is now completely even as Brighton are currently unbeaten against the Hammers for eight games in a row (three wins, five draws).
West Ham – Brighton Tip
With West Ham against Brighton, the prediction should not overstate the lopsided Premier League record of both clubs. The Londoners have never won against the Seagulls in eight league games in the Premier League. However, Albion currently travel to the London Stadium in poor form. The southpaws have been without another treble for eight league games.
While the visitors’ concrete defence should not be ignored. After all, Brighton are always capable of earning a draw. However, because the Hammers are extremely efficient and above all very dangerous from set pieces, we still think a home win for the Londoners is the most likely outcome.
