West Ham vs Brighton prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2024-12-20 15:00.
[p]Despite West Ham United conceding late to draw 1-1 with Bournemouth in the Premier League on Monday, manager Julen Lopetegui chose to take the positives from the result, describing it as the first step to becoming “a stronger and better team”. They ended the matchday in 14th, but even though the Spaniard is taking time to win over some fans, they are still fewer points adrift of the top seven than they are clear of the relegation zone ahead of the weekend. [/p]
[p]They begin their festive programme by hosting Brighton & Hove Albion, which will be a good marker of how much progress Lopetegui is making, as the Hammers have never won a Premier League H2H here (D5, L2). Beating his former club Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 in their last home fixture was encouraging, although it’s been a real mixed bag of results at the London Stadium in the league this season for the Irons (W3, D1, L4).[/p]
[p]Brighton arrive in the capital looking for their first victory since beating Bournemouth in late November (D2, L2) after falling to a 3-1 defeat against rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday. Like their upcoming hosts, they were left trying to find positives from a hugely disappointing result, but that winless sequence has seen them slightly lose ground on the European qualification places following an excellent start to the campaign.[/p]
[p]As well as their aforementioned good recent record at the London Stadium, the Seagulls have scored in each of their last nine away fixtures (W3, D3, L3), highlighting the threat they’ll pose. Holding on to any advantage they gain could be the bigger issue here however, as Fabian Hürzeler’s side have conceded five goals after the 75th minute across their last three trips, effectively costing them three points.[/p]
[p]Key battle: Three of the last four goals that Lucas Paquetá has scored for West Ham have come from the penalty spot, including against Bournemouth, with all three efforts being his side’s first goal of the match in question. Trying to stop him and also make an impact at the other end will be Brighton right-back Tariq Lamptey, who has four goal contributions (G2, A2) across his last six appearances. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: Brighton haven’t won any of their last ten Premier League away games in London (D4, L6).[/p]
[p][i]Written by John Pennington [/i][/p]