West Ham vs Brighton Preview: Team News & Prediction
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It is not quite last chance saloon for West Ham United but they are under immense pressure as they take on Brighton and Hove Albion at the London Stadium.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / USA – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – Peacock
West Ham preview: Gap is widening
Ahead of the 19th match day of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, West Ham United are now five points adrift of Nottingham Forest with reports circulating that the Irons’ hierarchy may even part company with Nuno Espirito Santo.
Nuno’s Hammers come into this one on the back of three successive defeats in the Premier League, having suffered a 1-0 loss to Fulham at the London Stadium the other day due to a late winner scored by Mexico international striker Raul Jimenez.
Brighton preview: Struggling Seagulls
There is a fair bit of pressure on former St Pauli boss Fabian Hurzeler with Brighton and Hove Albion now struggling as they sit firmly in the bottom-half of the table after an indifferent recent run of form.
The Seagulls suffered a 2-1 defeat to league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium the other day, extending their current winless run of form to five matches in the league since a 2-0 win away at Nottingham Forest in late-November.
West Ham team news: Nothing fresh
As ever, Nuno Espirito Santo remained coy in his pre-match press conference with regards to injury news. Lukasz Fabianski has been sidelined for a while and a late fitness test is expected for Germany international strikes Niclas Fullkrug.
They do still have availability issues at full-back, though, as Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf remain away at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal, respectively. Igor Julio is ineligible to play against his parent club, too.
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Areola; Mavropanos, Kilman, Todibo; Fernandes, Potts, Magassa, Walker-Peters; Summerville, Paqueta; Bowen
Unavailable: Fabianski (Injured), Igor (Ineligible), Wan-Bissaka (International duty), Diouf (International duty)
Questionable: Fullkrug (Fitness)
Brighton team news: Mitoma and Welbeck available
In his pre-match press conference, Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed that Kaoru Mitoma is available after returning from illness, while Danny Welbeck is also now an option from the start.
The Seagulls do remain without Adam Webster, Solly March and Stefanos Tzimas, who are sidelined through injury, while Carlos Baleba is at AFCON with Cameroon.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu; Hinshelwood, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck
Unavailable: Webster (Injured), Baleba (International duty), March (Injured), Tzimas (Injured)
Questionable:
West Ham vs Brighton prediction
Hosting Brighton and then Nottingham Forest next week, sandwiching a trip to rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers, presents a season-defining period for the Hammers. They face an uphill task even if they can collect at least seven points from those matches. They now face a Seagulls side that lack much cohesion or competence at either end of the pitch and so, with home advantage, siding with the desperate hosts may well be the way to go from a value perspective.
West Ham vs Brighton tip: Double chance – West Ham to win or draw
