Brighton vs West Ham LIVE Premier League: Goal updates and latest coverage from the AMEX Stadium
Brighton will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they entertain West Ham on the south coast tonight.
The Seagulls have suffered defeats to two of the top six in successive games, and now face Manuel Pellegrini’s men who will be confident of extending their unbeaten run to four games.
Wins away at Everton and at home to Manchester United either side of a draw against Chelsea have seen The Hammers make a fantastic comeback after a difficult start to the season.
More of a trot from Alireza Jahanbakhsh. A promising showing from the Iranian who goes off to be replaced by Jose Izquierdo, making his first home appearance of the season.
West Ham appear to be considering another alteration.
Michail Antonio has barely touched the ball since his insertion into the game. Brighton back on top. Gaetan Bong does well to find Anthony Knockaert but the Frenchman's dangerous-looking cross is well in-front of his arriving support.
Anthony Knockaert gets himself in a mess trying to play a cross field ball in his own half, and Beram Kayal drags down Felipe Anderson trying to atone for his teammate's error.
25 yards out, just left-of-centre. A great chance...
The Paraguayan breaks free from Glenn Murray six yards out but glances rather than heads the ball at the far post. It goes wide, and how West Ham may rue that missed opportunity...
Michail Antonio joins proceedings, with Pedro Obiang replaced as Manuel Pellegrini makes his first change at the hour mark.
Lukasz Fabianski is out well to claim a cross before it can reach Glenn Murray.
Marko Arnautovic is booked for a lunge on Beram Kayal. That's unlucky - the Austrian doesn't catch Kayal with the slide, and Kayal rather awkwardly lands on Arnautovic's shin before falling to the floor in dramatic fashion. A harsh booking.
Brilliant from Anderson, driving at and past Bruno. His ball deflects agonisingly just over Andriy Yarmolenko and Brighton manage to smother the ball behind for a corner with Marko Arnautovic looking to profit.
The corner comes to nothing, despite appeals from the West Ham crowd for a penalty.
More positive signs from West Ham. Marko Arnautovic holds the ball up well in the box, waiting for Andriy Yarmolenko to take it off him but a combination between Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk repel his left-footed shot.
Brighton with the ball early in the second period. They've settled back in to the 4-2-3-1 shape we saw in the first half. It is still a 4-3-3 from West Ham.
Chris Hughton will be relatively content with his side's performance. The trio of Solly March, Alireza Jahanbakhsh and the bright Anthony Knockaert have gelled well and are causing West Ham's defence a few problems.
West Ham were disappointing in the first half. The front three has been kept very quiet, while Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble (so impressive in their recent run of good form) have both had poor games thus far.
Perhaps a substitution and change of formation early in the second half could spark something for Manuel Pellegrini.
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Event channels. Highlights will be shown at 10:30pm tomorrow on BBC One.
It’s a big game for…
Chris Hughton: Brighton have failed to record a league victory since their 3-2 win over Manchester United in mid-September, and that will be lingering in the mind of their manager. His side may have faced Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City in three of the subsequent six fixtures, but he will know his side must convert the chances they squandered against those sides if they are to avoid being dragged into a relegation scrap.
Weird /best stat…
Three: West Ham have lost all three of their top-flight visits to Brighton, having fallen to the Seagulls in 1981-82, 1982-83 and last season.
Remember when…
Ricardo Vaz Te managed just 19 goals during his four-season stint with West Ham, but his goalscoring highlight will no doubt be his hat-trick against Brighton in April 2012. The Portuguese, who scored two in the first ten minutes, confirmed his treble with this fantastic overhead kick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJi4rGZZ0lI
Player to watch…
Fabian Balbuena: The 27-year-old put in an imperious display against Manchester United. The Paraguayan succeeded in limiting Romelu Lukaku’s influence by winning most of his individual battles with the Belgian, demonstrating copious amounts of physical and mental strength along the way. If the summer signing plays to that level again, Glenn Murray could be in for a frustrating evening.
Past three-meetings…
Brighton 3 (Murray, Izquierdo, Groß) West Ham 1 (Hernandez), Premier League, February 2018
West Ham 0 Brighton 3 (Murray x2, Izquierdo), Premier League, October 2017
West Ham 6 (Vaz Te x3, Nolan, Cole, Dicker og) Brighton 0, Championship, April 2012
Form guide…
Brighton: LLDDLL
West Ham: WLWDWW
Odds…
Brighton to win: 17/10
West Ham to win: 9/5
Draw: 9/4
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
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