Key events
West Ham have won ten of their last 14 games in all competitions. Brighton have only managed seven wins in their last 14 games, including two against Ajax, so they are in a pretty good position too. In terms of head-to-head competition, West Ham won easily 3-1 at the Amex in August but were beaten 4-0 there in March and have not won that game since Brighton came back big In 2017, the visitors won twice and drew the other four.
West Ham make three changes to their starting XI after their 2-0 win at Arsenal. Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals and Ben Johnson replace Mohammed Kudus, who is traveling with Ghana to the Africa Cup of Nations, Vladimir Coufal, who was “outstanding” in the win at the Emirates but is now in trouble over his contract, and the injured Lucas Paqueta.
Brighton make two changes after their 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Adam Webster replaces the suspended Lewis Dunk, while Pervis Estupiñán takes Igor Julio’s place.
The teams
West Ham United: Areola, Johnson, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Emerson Palmieri, Alvarez, Soucek, Benrahma, Ward-Prowse, Fornals, Bowen.
Substitutes: Fabianski, Cresswell, Cornet, Ings, Coventry, Casey, Mubama, Orford, Laing.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Steele, Hinshelwood, van Hecke, Webster, Estupinan, Gross, Gilmour, Milner, Buonanotte, Welbeck, Joao Pedro.
Substitutes: Verbruggen, Dahoud, Lallana, Moder, Baleba, Ferguson, Boaitey, Kavanagh, Samuels.
Referee: Sam Barrott (West Yorkshire).
preamble
Let’s face it, tonight it’s all about the darts. But there’s also hot Premier League action at the other end of town, seven miles southeast of Ally Pally, and it would be remiss of us to ignore it. West Ham and Brighton are both having fun in the Europa League and would love more of that hot European action next season, thank you very much. With the former currently sixth in the Premier League and the latter eighth, that dream is within reach. There is even talk of the Champions League. Okay, why not? All of this means there’s plenty to play for, which should make for plenty of fun this evening as two up-and-coming clubs go head-to-head. Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m. It’s on!
