West Ham United come into this one on the back of a couple of defeats in a row in the Premier League. After defeating title contenders Liverpool 3-2 just prior to the international break, the Hammers have proceeded to lose their next two matches against Wolverhampton and Manchester City respectively.
David Moyes will look to this home fixture against Brighton to get his side back on the winner’s sheet and gain some momentum as they charge full steam ahead into a crazy Christmas schedule that may just define their entire season in the league.
Squad rotation will almost certainly be necessary as the games come thick and fast and the coaching staff strives to avoid injuries to first-team regulars.
Now, as is my usual tradition before Hammers games, I will gaze into my crystal ball and see if I can predict what starting XI will line up at the Olympic Stadium come kick-off time against Brighton and Hove Albion.
West Ham vs Brighton FYIs
Kick-off time: 7.30 PM GMT, 1st December 2021
West Ham Team News: go here
Premier League Preview Pod: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): West Ham (DWLWL) Brighton (LDDLD)
Lukasz Fabianski will continue in goals here against Brighton. He is one of the few players I expect to play most, if not all of the fixtures in the Hammer’s hectic fixture schedule.
He was brilliant against City and could do nothing about both goals that were conceded. It’ll be bench duty again for Alphonse Areola.
Ben Johnson has undoubtedly laid claim to the first choice right-back position. Johnson has been one of the finds of the season and he barely put a foot wrong up against Raheem Sterling last matchday.
The fact he is keeping Vladimir Coufal out of the side speaks volumes about the talent he possesses.
Speaking of the Czech, he may just have an avenue back into the team following the back injury to Aaron Cresswell. He is more than capable of filling in at left-back and that’s exactly what I expect him to do here.
I expect the Irons coaching staff will exercise caution when it comes to Cresswell’s back injury.
The center of defense will likely be Craig Dawson and Kurt Zouma again. Defensively the pair barely put a foot wrong against City. It’s playing the ball out of defense that is their shortcoming. Kurt Zouma is developing into a leader, which is perfect timing after Angelo Ogbonna’s season-ending knee injury.
The defensive midfield duo of Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice that I continue to wax lyrical about will partner up yet again, despite not being at their best against Manchester City.
Rice wasn’t bad, but Soucek was largely ineffective for the most part. Expect them both to be back to their best here. Just ahead of the will once again be Pablo Fornals.
The forward line will definitely have Michail Antonio leading the line, but the wingers are not so certain starters. I am going to go with Jarrod Bowen returning to the starting lineup on the right, with Said Benrahama getting a rest in this one.
In Benrahma’s usual left-wing position, I think Manuel Lanzini will start. He might not have set the world on fire with his performance, but he showed what he can produce when given a little space with that sublime consolation goal against the Citizens.
This XI should be more than capable of taking care of Brighton and collecting a much-needed three points in the Premier League.