West Ham finds themselves in somewhat of a rut having lost their last two Premier League fixtures against Wolverhampton and Manchester City. They will be thankful that it hasn’t affected their Premier League position. The Hammers sit proudly in fourth place equal on points with Arsenal and more than a game ahead of Manchester United and Tottenham.
This week they host fellow early-season surprise packets in Brighton & Hove Albion. The Seagulls have also fallen off the pace somewhat, which makes this a tantalizing battle between two sides who desperately need the three points.
Each of the last five fixtures has ended in a draw between these two sides. It is the third-longest stretch of consecutive draws in Premier League history. Midweek fixtures have been kinder to West Ham than it has been to Brighton.
The Irons are unbeaten in their last seven midweek fixtures in the Premier League.
Conversely, Brighton has lost 11 of their last 12 Wednesday fixtures, with their sole victory coming on their last Wednesday fixture against Liverpool 1-0 this past February.
West Ham vs Brighton FYIs
Kick-off time: 7.30 PM GMT, 1st December 2021
West Ham Starting XI Prediction: go here
Premier League Preview Pod: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): West Ham (DWLWL) Brighton (LDDLD)
Now we have the backstory, here is the team news for the Hammers heading into this one.
West Ham United has had a blessed run with injury this season. For the longest time, their only injury worry was the incredibly unfortunate Italian center-back Angelo Ogbonna.
He picked up an ACL injury in the victory against Liverpool. He has since had surgery is unlikely to see first-team action again until 2023.
Aaron Cresswell picked up a back injury in the Hammer’s previous match against Manchester City. After making an unbelievable goal-line clearance he smashed into one of the goalposts. It looked like a horrible collision and a worse for wear Cresswell had to be replaced by Vladimir Coufal.
When quizzed on the left-back’s condition, manager David Moyes had this to say:
“He is okay, his back is stiff after going into the goalpost. He was in a spasm really and couldn’t move his leg well at that point.”
West Ham fans will be hoping he can recover in time for the Brighton match, Cresswell has been one of the East London club’s top performers and would be missed dearly if he were to miss the clash against Brighton.
I predict that the Hammers have enough to see off the Seagulls and should record a comfortable victory.