Lewis Jones predicts West Ham clash v Brighton and Hove Albion
Lewis Jones cannot separate West Ham and Brighton and Hove Albion when they clash at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Sky Sports expert is tipping both sides to play out a 1-1 draw given the shaky form of the hosts in recent games.
The Hammers have lost their last two Premier League games at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City, and they will be keen to pick up a win against the struggling Seagulls.
Jones does not see that happening, though, writing in his column on the Sky Sports website: “The last five meetings between these two have ended all square. It’s always a very tight, hard-fought encounter where fine margins are at play for the result.
“Graham Potter’s team arrive without a win in eight matches but six of those have been draws and their performance level remains high. In those eight matches, their expected goals against data have them as the seventh highest team in terms of defensive output and that can be upgraded as they have faced Liverpool and Manchester City during that run.
“They might be fluffing their lines in forward areas due to a lack of quality, but Potter has got them hard to beat. Added to that, West Ham seemed to have lost their spark slightly. Flat in the defeat at Wolves, they hardly raised a glove let alone landed any punches on Manchester City.
“A gruelling fixture list and lack of squad depth just may hold them back from mounting a serious top-four challenge. I think they will stumble here.”
Concern?
West Ham are yet to win since action resumed after the international break despite heading into it on the back of an impressive 3-2 victory over Liverpool, and they need to find that form quickly.
The players have all struggled to maintain the brilliant forms they had when the campaign started, and David Moyes does not have a lot of quality options to call on on his bench.
With Chelsea visiting the London Stadium this weekend, the Hammers manager is likely to pick his team on Wednesday with that game in mind.
Naming identical starting XI for both games will put a strain on his players, and it will be exciting to see how he plans to go about things.
Brighton are only struggling to convert their chances, and West Ham will have to be very wary of their attacking threat.
They are a very good team on their day, but the Irons can come out on top if they get their tactics and selection right.
A win will do them good ahead of the Blues clash, and they need to retain their place in the top-four after both games.
In other West Ham news, an amazing attacker is making personal arrangements for Hammers switch in January.
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