West Ham comes into this match after a mixed bag of results last week. In the Premier League, they suffered defeat to newly promoted Nottingham Forest. In the Europa Conference League, the result was much better. The Hammers secured a huge result, defeating Viborg 3-1 in front of their own fans.
The result was significant for not just the result, but new striker Gianluca Scamacca scored his first goal for the club. An immense weight off of the Italian striker’s shoulders. Another Italian celebrated a return to first team action for The Irons. Angelo Ogbonna returned to the fold after a nine-month injury layoff after suffering an ACL injury last season.
Brighton at West Ham FYIs
Kick-off: Saturday, Aug 21, 2 pm local, London Stadium
After Extra Time Podcast: Spotify Apple
Google Result Probability: West Ham victory 41% Draw 28% Brighton victory 31%
Watch: This is not on TV in the United States, only on a fee required streaming service, and it’s the additional cost, premium version of that service too.
Team News
Believe it or not, The Hammers have never defeated Brighton in the Premier League. They have drawn six and lost four of their previous encounters against the Seagulls. They have never kept a clean sheet when facing Brighton in the Premier League, either.
There’s no new team news for the east London club. New signing Nayef Aguerd remains out with an ankle injury. He remains out for the foreseeable future. October looks like the date for the Morrocan’s likely return. Fellow defenders Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna also remain out with their respective injuries. We expect Dawson to be a 50/50 chance for this fixture.
Starting XI Prediction
Lukasz Fabianski took the night off for the victory against Viborg. I expect him to be back in goals for this fixture.
An EPL start might be a little too soon for Angelo Ogbonna. Therefore, I am going with Ben Johnson and Kurt Zouma to line up as the center back pairing for a third league match. Aaron Cresswell will start at left back, with Vlad Coufal starting at right-back.
Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice start at the base of midfield, with Pablo Fornals playing ahead of them. The wide attackers will be Jarrod Bowen on the right, with new signing Maxwel Cornet starting on the left. I am going with Gianluca Scamacca to lead the line, hopefully building on his first goal at the club.
Stueys Two Cents
It shocked me when I discovered West Ham’s terrible record against Brighton in the Premier League. And given how these two clubs have started this season, I don’t see it changing. Particularly when you factor in West Ham’s traditionally slow starts and the continental hangover syndrome.
Brighton to win this one, but Scamacca to score again.
2-1 Brighton
Stuart Kavanagh is a journalist currently residing in Broken Hill, Australia. He writes for the Barrier Truth newspaper, along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, He also co-hosts the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast and contributes at edgeofthecrowd.com when time permits.
Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.