West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion are separated by just three points ahead of Tuesday’s showdown at the London Stadium.
The Hammers occupy sixth place in the Premier League table, while the Seagulls find themselves eighth, although their positions could change after Monday’s clash between Liverpool and Newcastle United.
Scorpions, bicycle kicks and historic hits 🚀Watch every goal of 2023 🔽— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 31, 2023
Scorpions, bicycle kicks and historic hits 🚀Watch every goal of 2023 🔽
Can David Moyes’ men climb to within four points of the Champions League places? Or will Roberto De Zerbi’s boys move level on points with West Ham?
Thanks to an impressive 2-0 victory over Arsenal last time out, West Ham head into Tuesday’s clash on a three-game winning streak in the Premier League.
Better still, the Hammers have kept three consecutive clean sheets, with a 3-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers preceding a 2-0 victory over Manchester United.
When you look at the bigger picture, West Ham have lost just one of their last eight league games, picking up six wins and one draw in the process.
Having lost only one of their previous 11 home matches across all competitions – winning six of the last seven – Moyes’ men will be confident of securing a positive result on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Brighton claimed an eye-catching 4-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur last time out, with Joao Pedro scoring two penalties in the rout.
The Seagulls have now lost just one of their previous five Premier League clashes, notching two wins and two draws to remain within touching distance of the European places.
That said, De Zerbi’s side have struggled on their travels in recent times, recording one win, two draws and four defeats in their last seven away league outings.
Still, Brighton have only lost two of their previous 12 matches across all competitions, so they will back themselves to frustrate West Ham at the London Stadium.
Head-to-head: West Ham claimed an impressive 3-1 victory over Brighton in the reverse fixture back in August, despite seeing just 22% possession at the Amex.
It is worth remembering, however, that Brighton have won three of their last four Premier League games against the Hammers, scoring 10 goals in the process.
Team news: Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio find themselves on West Ham’s injury list, while Nayef Aguerd, Kurt Zouma and Mohammed Kudus are doubts for Tuesday.
As for Brighton, they are without Ansu Fati, Julio Enciso, Joel Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Adam Webster, Tariq Lamptey and Solly March due to injury.
With the two sides separated by only three points in the table, West Ham and Brighton look set to serve up a close-fought battle in the capital.
Forebet predicts that West Ham and Brighton will play out a low-scoring draw, with both teams netting under 1.5 goals.