West Ham’s recent fixtures have been pretty challenging. A point away at Old Trafford, whilst not as daunting a game as in days gone by, is still a point to be celebrated and hard won.
Liverpool proved too much for Nuno’s men even in their present wounded state. However the upcoming trip to the south coast holds it own very special peril for West Ham United that away supporters will know only too well.
West Ham have an atrocious record against the Seagulls.
The Hammers last sixteen Premier League games against Brighton have yielded just one solitary win, drawing eight and losing seven. Which is a win rate of just six per cent, proving Brighton are one of the Hammers’ bogey teams in recent years. David Moyes achieved that sole victory at the Amex back in 2023 with a 3 – 1 win, which ironically lifted West Ham United to the top of the Premier League at the time.
How times have changed. The Hammers now mired in the relegation zone travel for a 2pm kick off tomorrow knowing that even three points might not be enough to lift them out of the drop zone if Leeds grab a point at home to Liverpool tonight. Desperate times at West Ham United.
The Amex – not a Hammers happy hunting ground
The Hammers recent resurgence does give some cause for optimism and the new-found steel in midfield along with fledgling defensive partnership evolving between Mavropanous and Todibo means Nuno appears to have stopped the ‘cave-in’s and the calamity’ from corners.
Grabbing a clean sheet tomorrow- as Jean- Clair Todibo suggested was their goal – will be mighty challenging.
I think, as a defender, I always think if we keep a clean sheet, at least we have one point,” Todibo said.
“So, we’ll try to do it. Unfortunately, we conceded in our last few games, which is a sign we have to improve, and it’s the next step for us.
Brighton’s home form doesn’t give much solace to Hammers hopefuls, with a ‘won 4, drawn 2, lost 1’ record at the Amex, just the solitary blemish as Fabian Hurzeler’s men lost to Aston Villa in a thrilling 3-4 reversal last Wednesday. On the positive side- Nuno Espirito Santo’s record against Brighton is far better, having lost just two from the last nine. Small comfort for Hammers fans who won’t be counting any chickens against the seagulls just yet.
Will be a tough game, they are at least a level above where we are presently. If we get a draw would be a great result, my hope is the Villa game will have taken a lot out of them maybe more than the Utd game took out of us and they could be a little flat. Would be tempted also to give Kante a bit more time and maybe Earthy as well as getting KWP in at left back to rest Diouf and have him come on if we need to chase the game.
Let’s also hope Paqueta is in the mood to right the wrong and gets amongst them, he is a straight swap for Soucek.
Always a backs to the wall job in Brighton!……But a tough game and one we need to see out but the question is who starts upfront? Wilson i cannot see him starting after running himself into the ground with no return against Manure….
It’s not just up front where fatigue could be a problem. I think the short turn around from Thursday, coupled with Brighton having an extra day to recover, will prove too big a hurdle.
It’s crazy that we were dealt two difficult away matches, at opposite ends of the country, with a Thursday/Sunday turnaround. Not exactly a level playing field, is it?