Brighton v West Ham
PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: The American Express Community Stadium
Date: Friday 5th October 2018
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistants: Matthew Wilkes, Simon Beck
Fourth official: Simon Hooper
TEAM NEWS
Brighton & Hove Albion will assess the fitness of Dale Stephens, who missed Saturday's defeat at Manchester City because of a hamstring injury.
Pascal Gross remains sidelined with ankle damage, but Jose Izquierdo is pushing for a first start this season.
West Ham are likely to be unchanged, with Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere among the continued injury absentees.
Javier Hernandez is in full training after overcoming glandular fever but he may not be risked on Friday.
Marko Arnautovic will play despite an ongoing knee problem.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Simon Brotherton: Brighton won both meetings last season but this game comes just as West Ham appear to be making positive strides under their new manager.
After a torrid start under Manuel Pellegrini, the Hammers have beaten both Everton and Manchester United and drawn with Chelsea in their last three games.
Brighton, in contrast, have taken just two points from their last five matches, though the three defeats in that run have come against teams finishing in the top four last season.
Albion haven't lost back-to-back home games in the Premier League since winning promotion two seasons ago, while West Ham haven't won back-to-back away games in the league for 20 months.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Brighton manager Chris Hughton: "West Ham have hit form and that's no surprise, it was only going to be a matter of time.
"You can't expect or think you'll have any repeat of what happened last year, but of course we want to win and will chase that.
"What we will have to get back to being is having those moments to be clinical again."
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini: "We are improving. But we must be careful and keep improving because every game in the Premier League is very difficult.
"When results were not good, I never felt any protest from the fans. They trusted in what we were doing and I always trusted in my work and knew we were going to play well.
"The best change we did was to keep things the same."
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
[*=left]Brighton won both Premier League meetings last season, including 3-0 away on a Friday.
[*=left]West Ham have lost all three of their top-flight visits to Brighton. Their only away victory in the last seven attempts in this fixture came in the Championship seven years ago.
[*=left]The first meeting between these clubs came 115 years ago this month, with Brighton winning 3-2 at home in the Southern League First Division.
[*=left]Chris Hughton's side have only earned two points from the past five matches, although their three defeats in that period all came against sides that finished in the top four last season.
[*=left]Brighton's only two Premier League wins in 16 attempts both came at home to Manchester United (D5, L9).
[*=left]They have gone nine league matches without a clean sheet since beating United 1-0 on 4 May.
[*=left]The Seagulls could lose consecutive Premier League home games for the first time, having been beaten by Spurs in their most recent game at the Amex Stadium.
[*=left]However, they have lost just one of their last 16 league matches in October (W7, D8), a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal last season.
[*=left]Glenn Murray has scored five goals in his last four league appearances against West Ham, including three last season. He needs two goals to reach 100 for Brighton.
[*=left]The Hammers are looking to secure back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since January 2017.
[*=left]Each of West Ham's last seven league victories have been by at least a two-goal margin.
[*=left]Their current three-match unbeaten league run has ensured they have an identical record to last season of two wins and seven points from seven games.
[*=left]Marko Arnautovic has been directly involved in 21 goals in his last 26 Premier League appearances, scoring 15 and setting up six.
[*=left]The Austrian could become the first player to score in three consecutive league away matches for the Hammers since Diafra Sakho four years ago.