West Ham United - Brighton and Hove Albion predictions and free betting tips [02/01/2024]

On Tuesday, 2nd January, as part of the 20th round of the Premier League, West Ham will be hosting Brighton at their home ground. This past Thursday, the Hammers pulled off a stunning victory over Arsenal at the Emirates with a score of 0:2, whilst the Seagulls gave a master class to Tottenham at their home turf – 4:2.

Predicted Line-Up

West Ham: Areola; Coufal, Ogbonna, Mavropanos, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Benrahma; Bowen.
Brighton: Verbruggen; Milner, Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Gross, Gilmour, Baleba; Lallana; Ferguson, Pedro.

West Ham

Last year's UEFA Conference League winners are putting up a strong performance in this season's UEFA Europa League, where they topped their group, leaving behind Freiburg, Olympiacos and Backa Topola, and thereby securing a direct entry into the 1/8 finals. Such a result allows the Hammers to focus solely on the domestic league until March, where David Moyes' charges currently stand at the 6th position in the leaderboard, trailing the "big four" by seven points. In recent form, the hosts have won four out of their past five games: against Tottenham (1:2), Fulham (5:0 rout), Wolverhampton (3:0) and Manchester United (2:0).

On Thursday evening, the Londoners pulled off a remarkable feat, defeating Arsenal at the Emirates with a scoreline of 0:2, despite a clear dominant play from the Gunners. Tomas Soucek scored a goal against Ramsdale after Jarrod Bowen's solo run, followed by Dinos Mavropanos who doubled his team's advantage in the second half. The hosts now aim to win four consecutive matches with four clean sheets in a single season for the first time since 1994, having failed to score in only one home Premier League fixture throughout 2023. 

Brighton

Brighton finished at the top of their UEFA Europa League group, leaving behind Marseille, Ajax Amsterdam and AEK Athens. Meanwhile, in the Premier League, the Seagulls stand at a modest 8th position in the overall standings, trailing their hosts by 3 points. Brighton started the season with convincing wins that delighted their fans but faltered in recent weeks, winning only one match in their last five before meeting Tottenham last Thursday.

After a 2:0 defeat to Arsenal, the Seagulls had to settle for a drawn duel against Crystal Palace (1:1) this past weekend. However, they then triumphed over Spurs in a high-scoring face-off (4:2): a brace by Joao Pedro, a strike by Jack Hinshelwood, and a fantastic goal from Pervis Estupinan helped Brighton secure this crucial victory. The Seagulls have managed only one win away from home in their previous seven Premier League matches, a fact that is a cause for concern. 

Head to Head

West Ham has conceded a goal in each of their past 13 Premier League encounters with Brighton, their trip to the South in August ended with an away victory of 1:3 at the Amex.

Match Predictions for West Ham vs Brighton

Brighton's attacking performance against Tottenham gives the Seagulls hope of closing the gap to the European zone, but a loaded injury list hardly helps De Zerbi's squad. The Hammers have a near impeccable record at home, however, Paqueta's injury has been a source of concern for David Moyes. I'd risk a punt on a draw.

Total Goals Prediction

In four of the previous five meetings between these teams in London, both teams have scored – a trend unlikely to break this time around.

Corner Predictions

Both teams promote an attacking style of football and possess speedy wingers, which implies a minimum of 10 corners being conceded.

Yellow Cards Prediction

Both teams average 2.5 yellow cards per match, hence I predict a total of over 4.5 cards.

Exact Score Prediction

I'd wager a precise scoreline of 2:2.