Chris Sutton predicts West Ham United game v Brighton in Premier League for BBC Sport
Chris Sutton has backed Brighton to leave West Ham United travelling home with nothing from the AMEX Stadium on Saturday 4 March in the Premier League.
The BBC pundit has predicted that it will finish 2-1 to the Seagulls, who are continuing their charge for European football as the season continues.
West Ham proved it was possible for other clubs, but now find themselves stuck in a relegation battle despite recent successes in European football.
Writing in his latest predictions column for BBC Sport, Sutton believes that Brighton are too consistent for the Hammers to take anything home from the south coast.
“West Ham went with a strong team on Wednesday and gave Manchester United a scare in the FA Cup,” he wrote.
“The Hammers’ win over Nottingham Forest last weekend was really encouraging too and Danny Ings, who was cup-tied for the trip to Old Trafford, will be back after scoring twice in that game.
“So, I can see this being a close game, but I am still backing Brighton to win it because of their consistency – they always seem to play well.”
Pressure.
The 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest last time out in the Premier League was wonderful, and certainly enough to release some pressure from the shoulders of David Moyes.
But, the Scotsman will know more than most that you can quickly fall back down that same rabbit hole, with the 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United playing on his mind likely.
That needs to be left in the past at West Ham United, who need to go to Brighton and show that they have the quality to match anyone, handing out a timely reminder should they win.
Leaving Old Trafford with just a “Scare” was not enough in the end, with the performance that followed Said Benrahma’s opener simply not good enough.
Moyes will want a response, and so will the travelling Hammers, we need to start creating some breathing space to that bottom three or we quickly find ourselves in it once again.