Preview & Prediction: West Ham United FC vs Brighton & Hove Albion FC
The face-off between West Ham United FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at the London Stadium is shaping up to be a captivating event in the middle of the season. The anticipation is at an all-time high among football gamblers ahead of Game Week 20. The matchup on January 2, 2024, in the Premier League follows a previous encounter that left West Ham United defeated, with a 0 – 3 triumph for Brighton & Hove Albion.
In a total of 15 times these two teams have squared off in recent seasons, Brighton & Hove Albion holds the edge with 6 victories compared to West Ham’s 3, with 6 matches concluding in a draw. West Ham United, currently in moderate form at home, will be facing Brighton & Hove Albion, who have been giving an average away performance.
The form of West Ham United FC has been commendable as they have gathered 12 points from their past 5 games, averaging 2.4 points per game. With BTTS landing in only one of these games and the team scoring 9 times within these five fixtures, Brighton & Hove Albion’s defense will need to be top-notch if they aim to halt West Ham from scoring. West Ham’s attack at home has been potent recently, as they remain unbeaten in four games and have scored in their previous four home games.
On the other hand, Brighton & Hove Albion FC has achieved 8 points from the last 5 games, meantime averaging 1.6 points per game. Brighton has had an astonishing BTTS in 4 of their past games, and have found the back of the net 8 times in the last five fixtures. Brighton will be aiming to keep their momentum going, having tasted defeat in just one of their last five games.
Additional intriguing stats include: Brighton has now remained unbeaten for two games. The last 19 games for Brighton ended with at least two goals scored. Out of the five most recent games for Brighton, both teams scored in four of them. Overall this season, 95% of Brighton’s matches have seen BTTS landing.
The average points for West Ham United at home matches this season are 1.89, while for Brighton & Hove Albion, the average points at away matches equal 1.22. Considering the teams’ previous encounters that had an average of 3.27 goals and 60% BTTS, we might witness a couple of goals being scored in this fixture.
Key Insights:
– West Ham United has an impressive form with an average of 2.4 points per game in the last 5 games, securing 12 points in total.
– West Ham United has a good scoring record, netting 9 times in their last 5 fixtures.
– The club has a strong home play, remaining unbeaten in 4 consecutive matches.
– West Ham has managed to keep 3 clean sheets in the last 5 games while conceding just 6 times.
– In the last 5 matches, only 1 game ended with both teams scoring, suggesting a strong defensive play from West Ham.
– Brighton & Hove Albion, despite having an average form with 1.6 points per game in their last 5 fixtures, has managed to score 8 times.
– Brighton & Hove Albion has seen 2 goals or more in their last 19 games, indicating a high scoring trend.
– In 4 out of the 5 recent matches involving Brighton & Hove Albion, both teams have scored.
– The last encounter between these two teams ended in favour of Brighton & Hove Albion with a scoreline of 0 – 3.
– Historically, out of the 15 prior meetings, Brighton & Hove Albion has won 6 times, West Ham United has won 3 times, with 6 draws.
– On average, West Ham United secures 1.89 points per game at home while Brighton & Hove Albion manages 1.22 points per away game.
– Overall, these team’s previous encounters have seen an average of 3.27 goals per game, with both teams scoring in 60% of the matches.
Match Forecast:
– West Ham may take advantage of Brighton’s weakness at defending against counter-attacks, with their own strength in counter-attacking play.
– Brighton could exploit West Ham’s lack of ball possession and their inability to defend against through balls with their short pass possession football.
– Given West Ham’s strength in attacking set pieces and Brighton’s weakness in stopping opponents from creating chances, expect West Ham to take a lot of shots from set pieces.
– Both teams have strengths in creating scoring chances and finishing. Therefore, potentially high-scoring match.
– Brighton’s prowess in shooting from direct free kicks and West Ham’s weakness in avoiding fouling, Brighton might score from free kicks.
– West Ham’s tendency of playing in their own half might put them under pressure against Brighton’s possession football.
– Where Brighton plays aggressively, West Ham might commit more fouls in dangerous areas, conceding free kicks.
– Brighton might struggle with their weakness in avoiding offside against West Ham’s long ball play style.
– Given Brighton’s ability at coming back from losing positions, even if West Ham establishes an initial lead there is risk of Brighton bouncing back.
– It’s likely that Brighton may try to exploit West Ham’s weakness at defending set pieces using their strength of attacking down the wings for crosses.
– Since Brighton & Hove Albion FC rotate their squad more frequently compared to West Ham’s consistent first eleven, the fatigue factor may play a decisive role, particularly in the later stage of the match.
The chances of West Ham putting one past the goalie during a quick counter-attack are extremely high. There’s also a very high probability that West Ham will capitalize on any blunders Brighton may make and turn these into goals. It’s also highly anticipated that West Ham will generate numerous opportunities to score. On the other hand, Brighton might very well score from a direct free kick, as their odds appear promising. Furthermore, Brighton’s chances of controlling and dominating the ball’s movement on the field also looks likely.
Match Facts:
– West Ham United, when hosting, had 2 victories, 4 draws and 3 defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion over the previous 9 encounters, with a goal difference of 17-14 leaning toward West Ham.
– Over their last 18 clashes, West Ham United achieved 4 wins, 7 draws, while Brighton & Hove Albion took 7 victories. The goal difference was 30-27, favouring Brighton & Hove Albion.
– West Ham United’s last victory at home versus Brighton & Hove Albion transpired in 2012.
– In the previous season, Brighton & Hove Albion clinched two victories over West Ham United with a 4-0 home win and a 2-0 away triumph.
– West Ham United scores 21% of their goals within the 76-90 minute window. In a similar vein, Brighton & Hove Albion capitalizes the same time frame for 24% of their goals.
– West Ham United boasts a record of three successive home victories.
– They also haven’t suffered a defeat in their past seven home games.
– One out of West Ham’s nine home matches in this Premier League season remained goalless for them.
– Brighton & Hove Albion failed to notch any goals in one out of their nine away Premier League games this season.
– West Ham’s leading scorer is Jarrod Bowen with 11 goals while Joao Pedro has hit the net 7 times for Brighton & Hove Albion.
– West Ham’s top provider was Lucas Paqueta, assisting 6 goals. For Brighton & Hove Albion, this title goes to Pascal Gross with 7 assists.
– West Ham United edges out Brighton & Hove Albion in winning the first half of their matches, leading 36% to Brighton’s 35%.
– West Ham United emerged victorious from their last battle against Brighton & Hove Albion.
– They triumphed with a two-goal lead in their most recent face-off.
– West Ham secures a win in 76% of their matches when they lead 1-0 at home, whereas Brighton, when leading 0-1 away, wins 66% of their matches.
– When at a 0-1 disadvantage at home, West Ham rebounds to win in 44% of their matches. Under similar circumstances away, Brighton bounced back to claim victory in 15% of their games.
– In the Premier League, West Ham United boasts a superior performance over Brighton & Hove Albion.
– Brighton & Hove Albion won three times, trounced once, and drawn once across their past five confrontations with West Ham United, in all competitions.
– In terms of goals, West Ham United typically nets a single goal against Brighton & Hove Albion who tends to strike back with 2.2 goals.
– The average goal-count per game between West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion is 3.2 with a first-half goal rate of 1.
– West Ham United mints 2.04 goals on average when hosted while Brighton & Hove Albion pulls off 1.86 away goals.
– West Ham United pushes forward with a three-game winning streak in the Premier League.
– Comparatively to their standing of 17th with 15 points this time last year, West Ham holds the 6th position with 33 points now.
– West Ham United consistently found the back of the net in their past five consecutive matches.
