West Ham United – Brighton

The opponents who are going through a rough patch will trade goals.

West Ham United are currently experiencing the gravest crisis this season. Since mid-2024, the team has changed two head coaches. Lopetegui lasted in the post for 22 matches over 191 days, Potter was given a little more — 25 matches over 261 days. Nuno Espírito Santo arrived at the Hammers with a positive track record. The Portuguese specialist has left behind successful projects at Wolverhampton and Nottingham Forest, whose status during his tenure grew steadily. However, the London club has not yet seemed to take to this coach. Only in November did West Ham look somewhat decent. In October and December the Hammers almost always lost, with only occasional matches ending in draws. This state of affairs ahead of the last match of 2025 left the capital club in the relegation zone. Brighton in recent years has become the bogey team for the favorites, but now even the Seagulls are not in their best form. At the same time, the drop in the team's level of play is largely due to the surprises of the football calendar, which over the last month presented them with a set of opponents: Aston Villa, Liverpool, Sunderland and Arsenal. West Ham were also opponents during this period. In the first half of the season, the Hammers highlighted Brighton's relative weakness, forcing them to come from behind at Brighton's home stadium in stoppage time of the second half (1-1). Bookmakers have made the visitors favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.19 on their victory. West Ham have lost their last three Premier League matches. The winless run of the Hammers has reached seven matches. The deep crisis in the team began from the early rounds of the season, so it's unlikely Nuno Espírito Santo can fix its root causes very quickly. At the same time, it's worth paying attention to the team's goalscoring efficiency. Not once this season have West Ham gone three consecutive matches without scoring, and in the last two rounds they left the field without a goal. Meanwhile, Brighton's goalscoring has declined in recent weeks, but the Seagulls remain dangerous in attack. This season they have failed to score away from home in only three matches. Let's bet that both teams will score.