Mid-Table Melee: West Ham vs. Brighton’s Battle for Supremacy
West Ham against Brighton is an upcoming English Premier League match that might not feature big names like Liverpool or Manchester City, but there are still some great players. Both teams are performing better than expected and there’s a small chance that West Ham could even jump Manchester United on the table!
Match Details
This EPL game will take place on Tuesday, January 2nd, with a kick-off time of 19:30. The game is held at West Ham’s pitch at the London Stadium.
Team News
West Ham is expecting mostly a full-strength squad for this matchup, as there are only a few injuries listed. Michail Antonio is out with a knee injury, but Nayef Aguerd and Maxwel Cornet are listed as having illnesses and should be ready for the New Year.
Unfortunately for Brighton, their injury list is far longer and a few key players will miss the game against West Ham, including Anssumane Fati, Julio Enciso Espinola, Joel Veltman, Pervis Estupinan, Adam Webster, Tariq Lamptey, Kaoru Mitoma, and Solomon March.
Recent Form
West Ham, or the Hammers as they’re sometimes called, have looked solid this season and are 7th on the table with 30 points. They are only one point behind Manchester United in sixth, so some more great performances could see them leapfrog their rivals. The Hammers’ last five games have included three wins, one loss, and one draw, with their most recent matchup ending in a massive 2-0 victory over none other than Manchester United!
Brighton might not be competing for the championship this season, but they’ve done well to reach 9th on the table and have silenced many critics. The team has had a rollercoaster last five games, including two losses, two draws, and one win, with their most recent match ending in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Head-to-Head
These two teams match up very evenly against each other when looking at historical records. The last five matchups between these clubs have resulted in one draw, three victories for Brighton, and one win for West Ham. The last match ended in a 3-1 victory for West Ham on August 26th, 2023.
Key Players to Watch
There’s no doubt that the Hammers will rely heavily on the scoring prowess of Jarrod Bowen, who has been outstanding with 11 goals in 17 matches. Bowen was important in the victory over Manchester United with one goal. Look out for Mohammed Kudus (six goals) and Tomas Soucek (four goals), as they’ve been looking great this season as well.
Brighton has had good performances from Evan Ferguson with six goals in 16 matches, although they good use some more help from Pedro (five goals) and Adingra (four goals). Groß has been one of the best passers on the team and will be one to watch, as he’s already picked up 7 assists.
Tactical Overview
West Ham is great at counterattacks, finishing at the goal area, and attacking set pieces, although they need to improve on defending against through-ball attacks.
Predictions
At the moment, West Ham is the favourite, but it’s a very close prediction and a draw could also be a good idea for a bet. The Hammers have 11/8 odds to win, a draw is 11/4, and Brighton is 9/5 for the victory. The best bet for Anytime Goalscorer has to be Evan Ferguson with odds of 2/1. Match experts are rating West Ham to win at 41%, Brighton at 34%, and a draw at 25%. The over/under for goals scored is a fairly safe bet at 2.5.
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