Key events
27 min Pre-match, we talked about potential olimpicos, and De Cuyper does go for goal from the corner, but the ball drifts just over the bar.
26 min Rutter skins Todibo, Diouf going to ground and allowing himself to be skipped over. Minteh takes over, but Todibo gets back well to block his cross at cost of a corner.
24 min Minteh gives it away to Summerville, who immediately transfers inside to Paquueta, who flicks immediately to Bowen, at inside-right. He’s blocked off by Rutter at cost of a corner – which comes to nowt – but that is precisely the kind of move West Ham are set up to execute.
22 min West Ham are letting Brighton have the ball until the cross halfway, and it’s notable that Paqueta isn’t being asked to chase back. Once he’s pressed from the front, he’s loitering upfield hoping for a cahnter.
21 min Gomez is late on Fernandes and just about escapes a booking; he’s actually a card away from a ban, so just as well for him and Brighton.
20 min Baleba gives Gomez quick ball and it’s moved on to Wieffer, who thunders a shot into the nearest defender. We’ve not had a chance yet, but I don’t think this match is going to end goalless.
19 min In Abu Dhabi, Lando Nozza is very close to winning the 2025 driver championship.
Photograph: ITV/Shutterstock
17 min We thought Paqueta might have fun roaming free and tossing grenades, and he’s starting to, just overhitting a through-ball seeking Summerville.
16 min Sky have just apologised for some naughty words audible from the away end. Do they know their proprietor is Rupert Murdoch?
15 min A ball in behind for Summerville, who looks offside, and once Verbruggen has saved a poor one-on-one finish, the flag goes up. It is, as ever, odd the officials and laws made the keeper do that for no reason, but West Ham are starting to threaten.
14 min Delicious control from Paqueta, taking a pass from Areola and knocking off the Diouf, whose ball in behind seeking Summerville is quick and well directed. But Verbruggen is out quickly enough to clear.
12 min Welbeck has appeared into the game, looking to hold up and initiate close combinations. He’s got a lovely touch and imagination, so if Brighton can get men close to him and give him the ball on the ground, back to goal, there’s joy to be had attacking the space in behind.
11 min First flash of West Ham, Summerville flicking on for Bowen and dashing in behind anticipating the return … which doesn’t quite reach him.
10 min Gomez is just a little late on a pass looking to stick De Cuyper in behind, then Wan-Bissaka counters and Kadioglu knocks him over; he’s booked.
9 min We’ve seen nothing of West Ham as an attacking force so far, but Nuno won’t mind that – that’s what he does. At Wolves, it often felt counter-productive because it didn’t suit the players he had, but it was perfect for his squad at Forest and might work well with the players he has now.
7 min Yankuba Minteh, incidentally, is up there with Godsway Donyoh and Trevoh Chalobah as one of the great non-Manc Manc names.
6 min Nice from Rutter, who holds up, turns, and sets Minteh away at inside-right, but his cross is thunked well beyond the back post.
5 min “Fair question re West Ham’s relegation chances,” returns Eric Peterson. “I’ve been a Nuno fan since his days hauling Wolves into Europe, and I think what he accomplished at Forest was spectacular. With 24 games left at his disposal, I can easily see him putting the puzzle pieces together for survival (the cupboard’s much less bare than at Burnley and Wolves, that’s for sure). But then I go into zero-sum mode and look for a team above them prone to replacing them in the bottom three, and I struggle. But we’ll see. It’s December. If West Ham get their act together, relegation will be someone else’s worry, not theirs.”
I think West Ham are likelier to stay up than Leeds, but Daniel Farke might just’ve switched to 3-5-2 in the nick of time. With two big men up front, they’re suddenly a much tougher proposition to face.
4 min Nrighton build and West Ham let them, sitting off, then Kadioglu comes inside on to his right foot and tries a cross seeking Welbeck, but Todibo hacks clear.
3 min We can see a lot of lower-tier empty seats. I’d fine clubs for that – they should be going around local schools with spares on Fridays, and doing pay-on-the-day for kids.
2 min I’d not fancy being keeper, ever, obviously, but especially not on this round, today. I’d be sticking crosses under the bar if I could, and I’d be tempted to go for goal from corners, because the wind is nasty.
1 min Immediately, a pass into touch, so West Ham hump it downfield, playing for territory.
1 min Off we go!
Lunchtime, but it looks like it’s dusk; it’s grim down south.
Here come our teams…
We’re getting towards full-time in our early WSL matches…
It’s an absolutely filthy day on the south coast or, in other words, we can enjoy some proper football weather.
He also played pretty well in midweek – admittedly, I was watching about 17 others at the same time, so I don’t know how reliable that impression is – but I’m hoping he’s over the hump.
Baleba, who we mentioned earlier, won this game at the death last season.
In Cremona, Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese have beaten Lecce 2-0. No goals for the cosmopolitan hit-man, but his team are up to ninth in Serie A.
I’m really excited to see what Nuno does with El-Hadji Malick Diouf, whose raw materials are spectacular. He needs more defensive discipline and patience, by physically, he’s off the charts, and his crossing is superb. At Everton, he pretty much turned the game by himself, and if Wieffer goes forward supporting Minteh, expect him to attack the space in behind.
“Celebrating the resurgence of West Ham is a bit premature, chides Eric Peterson. “They’re on a three-game winless streak, with those games against: a sinking Bournemouth, a floundering Manchester United, and an imploding Liverpool. Facing Brighton, which hadn’t lost since October before running into an irresistible Aston Villa, will provide a sterner, and truer, test.”
They’re much better than they were; United battered Brighton; and Villa were not irresistible in midweek. I don’t think West Ham will go down, do you?
I’m looking forward to seeing how Carlos Baleba does today. I’m in no position to speculate as what’s triggered his drop in form, but it’s a fact: no player in the league has been subbed as early as often.
Of course, he’s still a terrific talent, strong, fast, excellent in the tackle and sharp with his ball-carrying. But he does need to improve and begin affecting games again – which’ll be harder in the absence of his regular partner, Yasin Ayari.
Also going on:
So, where is the game? West Ham will look to defend deep and in numbers, and bringing in Summerville for Wilson suggests they’ll be hoping to counter swiftly. I also think that, with Rodriguez and Fernandes in midfield, Paqueta will have scope to romp about dropping grenades with Bowen darting about in between and in behind the centre-backs and full-bakcs.
Brighton, meanwhile, will look to keep the ball and draw West Ham out of position, playing off Welbeck with the full-backs and wingers looking to overload the wing-backs.
Hurzeler makes two changes to the team that lost midweek, Welbeck and Rutter replacing Tzimas and Gruda Nuno introduces Paqueta, back from suspension, along with Rodriguez, Summerville and Kilman, with Potts, Soucek, Wilson and Magassa dropping out.
On the other hand, this is very, very grey – John Major Spitting Image puppet grey – and the least said about the double collar the better.
Fabian Hurzeler says his team played well in losing a 2-0 lead at home to Villa in midweek. They need to keep working on their clean sheets and doing the basics.
With Welbeck back in from the start, he says it’s important to have a strong spine and cites his centre-forward as a leader to whom the young players look up, saying he leads the defending from the front.
He wants his team to be patient and is sure his team has the skills to get it done today.
Before we look at the teams in detail, Nuno talks abut making changes following “an intense game” on Thursday night. It’s difficult trying to compete while building new processes and ideas, but his team did a lot of good things last time out and they are confident and positive.
Finally, he discusses how talented Lucas Paqueta is, saying he’s ready to play, and Brighton are an attacking team, so they need to attack also.
Teams!
Brighton (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Baleba, Gomez; Minteh, Rutter, De Cuyper; Welbeck. Subs: Steele, Gruda, Hinshelwood, Kostoulas, Boscagli, Veltman, Coppola, Knight, Oriola.
West Ham (5-3-2-): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Mavropanos, Todibo, Diouf; Rodriguez, Fernandes, Paqueta; Summerville, Bowen. Subs: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Wilson, Fullkrug, Magassa, Soucek, Potts, Irving, Mayers.
Preamble
In the 42 years I’ve been pathologically obsessed with this thing of ours, I don’t remember a season remotely like this one: five points separate Chelsea, in fourth, from Bournemouth, in 13th.
So, why is that? Money, of course, is operative: Premier League sides are able to outspend those everywhere else in the world. But it’s also the case that there’ve never been more brilliant footballers in the world, meaning every club can have some and, in the absence of much managerial brilliance – and, perhaps much elite on-pitch ability – there’s little to choose between a vast swathe of clubs, each of which can beat almost all of the rest on a good day.
Brighton are undoubtedly one of those, currently 10th in the table but able to move sixth with a win today – at least until Crystal Palace visit Fulham. Previously, it’s felt like they’re limited by a glass ceiling, unable to take the step from upper-mid-table to something a bit better, but this season offers them a chance at something more. It’s not impossible for them to finish in the top four – the problem they have is the same is so of numerous other clubs too.
If they are to make something happen, West Ham at home is the kind of match they need to win. Thing is, that’s become far harder in recent weeks, Nuno Espírito Santo instilling solidity and discipline evidenced most recently by Thursday night’s comeback draw at Old Trafford. Though the Irons are 18th in the table, that is, in part, a legacy of Graham Potter’s time in charge – they needn’t be very much worse than various of the sides above them and, we can be almost sure, will turn up at the Amex ready for a ruck.
Kick-off: 1pm GMT
