West Ham v Albion
PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: London Stadium
Date: Saturday 1st February 2020
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Stuart Burt, Simon Bennett
Fourth official: Michael Salisbury
VAR: Andre Marriner
Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis
TEAM NEWS
New West Ham signing Tomas Soucek is likely to be involved in the game against fellow strugglers Brighton.
Michail Antonio's thigh problem, which caused him to miss the midweek defeat by Liverpool, is being assessed.
Brighton & Hove Albion defender Shane Duffy is out with a shin injury but he should be fit for their next match.
Dan Burn, Jose Izquierdo and Leon Balogun remain sidelined with respective shoulder, knee and thigh injuries.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Simon Brotherton: A big game for both, with West Ham only out of the bottom three on goal difference and Brighton just two points clear of it going into the weekend.
West Ham made a promising start under David Moyes at the turn of the year, but things have since taken a downward turn with just a point from the last four games and an ignominious exit in the FA Cup at home to West Brom.
Brighton haven't fared much better in recent weeks, and have won only one of their past nine league games.
There is some good news for Graham Potter's team though. Unlike West Ham, their next two matches aren't away to Liverpool and Manchester City.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
West Ham manager David Moyes: "I think we're really aware of how tough the games coming up are, but I also think you can only play each team twice in the league. It depends when you get them - at a good time or a bad time.
"We know there are games that are difficult but we play them all twice, and we have to try to take every opportunity we can get."
Graham Potter: "We're in an exciting position and fighting in the hardest competition in the world, so this is a wonderful challenge for us. It's not easy, but you wouldn't expect it to be.
"We've done quite a lot of stuff well but we're in a tricky situation and we have to stick together to find solutions and that's what we'll do."
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
[*=left]West Ham have never beaten Brighton in the Premier League, drawing twice and losing three times.
[*=left]The last two league meetings have ended in a draw, including 1-1 in the reverse fixture in August.
[*=left]The Hammers have won just one of their past four home games against Brighton in the league - but that was a 6-0 victory in the Championship in April 2012.
[*=left]West Ham have only taken one point from four league matches.
[*=left]No team has collected fewer points in the last seven Premier League games than West Ham's four.
[*=left]They have lost six of their past nine Premier League games at London Stadium (W1, D2).
[*=left]Their tally of seven Premier League home defeats is already more than in either of the previous two seasons.
[*=left]West Ham have lost 17 points from a winning position this season, three more than any other side.
[*=left]The Hammers' Premier League win rate in February is 42%, higher than in any other month of the year.
[*=left]Brighton have won just one of their past nine Premier League matches (D4, L4).
[*=left]They have lost three away games in a row - only bottom-of-the-table Norwich have a longer run of away defeats in the division.
[*=left]Albion are winless in all four Premier League fixtures in 2020. They started 2019 with a seven-match winless league streak.
[*=left]The Seagulls have 25 points after 24 games, one fewer than they had at this stage of last season under Chris Hughton.
[*=left]Leandro Trossard has been directly involved in six goals in home league games this season but has failed to score or provide an assist in all eight of his Premier League away appearances.
