West Ham United will host Brighton & Hove Albion in the second game of the New Year in the Premier League. On Thursday, the Seagulls defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 in an attacking masterclass. The Irons crushed Arsenal’s title hopes with a 2-0 victory over the Gunners.
Preview (West Ham United vs. Brighton & Hove Albion)
David Moyes had attempted twenty-two times to engineer an away victory over Arsenal. On Thursday, the West Ham manager defeated his old student Mikel Arteta. The Irons produced what was maybe one of their best defensive performances. After Jarrod Bowen was ruled to have kept the ball in play, Arsenal were left to lament a confusing line decision. However, in the second half, former Gunner Dinos Mavropanos stood highest to double his new club’s lead.
Despite giving up 77 touches within their penalty area to Arsenal—a Premier League record for a team without a goal—West Ham provided exceptional cover for Alphonse Areola over the ninety minutes to win three straight games in the top level. In December, West Ham not only shut out Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United. They also secured sixth place in the table, surpassing the Red Devils due to their inability to draw. The team’s five-goal crushing losses to Fulham and Liverpool were insignificant in comparison.
Moyes’s team might potentially make history on Tuesday as they want to win four straight games. They kept four clean sheets in a single season for the first time since 1994. Additionally, they have only allowed goals in one Premier League home game all of 2023. On December 28, the supporters of Arsenal and Tottenham were unable to make fun of one other’s bad luck. The Gunners were unable to get through the West Ham defense. The soaring Seagulls destroyed Ange Postecoglou’s defenseless lineup at the Amex Stadium.
A thrilling victory for Roberto De Zerbi’s team included two goals from Joao Pedro, a fierce strike from Jack Hinshelwood, and a goal-of-the-season candidate from Pervis Estupinan. However, they had to endure a nerve-wracking finish as Alejo Veliz and Ben Davies cut the Spurs lead in half. It remains to be seen if Brighton would have scored four goals against a fully-fit Spurs defense. De Zerbi’s team made the most of the Lilywhites’ injury woes to snap a three-game losing streak.
Team News
Even without Lucas Paqueta for much of the game, West Ham destroyed title-chasing Arsenal. The Brazilian left the game at the 33-minute mark after first appearing to hurt himself during the warm-up. The Hammers took a chance by starting him in the starting lineup. Paqueta is one of three players nursing a knee injury, including Michael Antonio and Kurt Zouma, the former of whom has a chance to return. Moyes has acknowledged that Paqueta has an injury.
In addition to Ghanaian sensation Mohammed Kudus, Nayef Aguerd (illness) is also questionable. The two players are scheduled to travel to the African Cup of Nations this month, but it is unclear when they will be expected to reunite with their national teams. De Zerbi will undoubtedly have to go without one of his mainstays, Lewis Dunk, for a battered Brighton. Dunk received his fifth caution of the year against Tottenham for a challenge on Dejan Kulusevski that easily could have resulted in a red card.
Joel Veltman (knee), Ansu Fati (thigh), Julio Enciso (knee), Kaoru Mitoma (ankle), Simon Adingra (hamstring), Solly March (knee), Adam Webster (unspecified), and Tariq Lamptey (thigh) replace Dunk on the sidelines. Igor and Facundo Buonanotte also had setbacks during the midweek. Estupinan’s fantastic play off the bench against the Spurs should therefore force De Zerbi to expedite his return to the starting lineup, and Adam Lallana will probably profit from Buonanotte’s issue.
West Ham United 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
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