West Ham United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
English Premier League, KO: 19:30 Jan 2, 2024, London Stadium
WEST HAM UNITED will be bidding to kick-off 2024 with a third straight Premier League victory when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion at the London Stadium on Tuesday night.
After beating Manchester United 2-0 just before Christmas, the Hammers produced their best performance of the season so far by earning a well-deserved 2-0 win against Arsenal at the Emirates last week.
That pair of eye-catching victories means David Moyes' men went into the New Year surveying the top-flight standings from the lofty heights of sixth place.
Back at their capital headquarters for their opening fixture of 2024, West Ham will look to continue their climb up the table at the expense of Brighton.
However, the Seagulls will also be in good spirits going into this east London encounter after dishing out a 4-2 trouncing to Tottenham last time out.
As a result of that victory, Roberto De Zerbi's side have risen to eighth place in the table and another success here would see them leapfrog West Ham in the Premier League table.
Outright Betting
West Ham United are 11/8 favourites at Bet 365 as they go in search of a third Premier League home win in succession.
Despite avoiding defeat in each of their previous six visits to the London Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion are 15/8 (Bet 365) outsiders while a point apiece has been priced up at 13/5 (Bet 365).
Betting Angles
Goals are usually on the agenda when Brighton are involved but with BTTS unbackable on it's own I'll couple it up with Edson Álvarez to commit a foul to give us a 21/20 (Bet 365) shot.
Both Teams to Score has been the right wager in a whopping 18 of Brighton's 19 Premier League games this season so far, one of which was against West Ham when the pair at the Amex back in August.
As such, Roberto De Zerbi's ropey reargaurd could struggle to tame a high-flying West Ham team who have netted in 24 of their 28 matches in all competitions this season so far.
However, attack-minded Albion have only fired one blank across their last 35 Premier League fixtures and they will back themselves to breach a West Ham backline that has leaked at least once in 15 of their 19 top-flight tussles this term to date.
I'll therefore back both teams to strike at the London Stadium, but to boost the odds, I'll also go with Edson Álvarez to commit a minimum of one foul in what should be a keenly contested affair under the lights.
The Mexican midfielder is averaging 1.2 fouls per game in the Premier League this season, racking up seven yellow cards in the process, one of which was against Brighton in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Staying in the Hammers midfield, I'm also going to chance a London Stadium longshot by backing Tomáš Souček to Score a Header at 14/1 (Bet 365).
Brighton, who will be without suspended skipper Lewis Dunk for this game, have the shortest average team height in the top-flight, so towering Hammers midfielder Souček could be worth some loose change to capitalise on that aerial vulnerability at a bold price.
This English Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion will be played on Jan 2, 2024 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham United vs Brighton & Hove Albion prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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