West Ham vs Brighton | PL | 30.12.25 | Prediction and Match Thread

[stubbo-admin]

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Match Centre: 

Live data by Scoreaxis

 Odds: 
WHU: 5/2
Draw: 14/5
Brighton: 11/10

 Pre-Match Press Conference: 
N/A 

 Match Preview: 
Hammers Chat

 Watch-along:
Hammers Chat

Streams:

Sport+

 If there above doesn't work go look for a Stream from the sites listed here!

https://champagne.pages.dev/docs/gettin ... ive-sports
 
 (With all live streams be mindful they can carry viruses etc.  Don't click on any ads and use a VPN).
   ----------------------------------------------------------

Well, it's the last game of 2025 in a year that few will look back on with favour or fondness.  Wrapping it up are bogey-side Brighton, who after a last minute outrageous goal in the away fixture cost us a vital victory, will fancy themselves (doesn't everyone) heading to the London Stadium.

It's another of those must win games for West Ham, and if the recovery doesn't actually commence at some point, we're fucked.  

There's been no press conference for this game, so not much to report on player availability wise.  Fullkrug is training with Milan already so he's not available.  Guilherme seems to have been ostracised for some reason despite a moderatly promising last cameo against Liverpool.  And Igor it would appear it's been decided isn't up to task.   Diouf and Wan Bissaka remain at the AFCON tournament.

Predicted Line Up:

Brighton play with a large number of overloads on the ball, and last time out we shifted to a back three quite successfully, so I'd expect to see something similar again in this game (just to get the natives uber-restless when the defensive looking lineup is announced):

Areola

Mavropanos  Kilman  Todibo

Walker Peters    Fernandes   Potts   Scarles

Paqueta 

Bowen   Summerville

Subs: Hermansen, Myers, Golambeckis, Kante, Rodriguez, Magassa, Earthy, Soucek, Wilson

Predicted Result:

It is all starting to feel a bit last chance saloon for West Ham, despite the season still having over half left to run!  Lose this game and all hope will feel lost.  Brighton though seem to be missing some key players, and this presents us a chance at least.  Brighton created almost nothing against us in the first game so I expect that gameplan and pattern to largely repeat...with the outcome to be decided on the basis of how well our Maginot Line holds up to late pressure when Brighton come on strong.

Score: West Ham 1 - 0 Brighton (Bowen)

COYI

[BoleynGone]

Oh well Nuno lost us another 2 points.
Line up was mediocre and bench far to negative.
Subs were almost the end of Nuno,was he actually trying to lose the game ?
Scarles could hardly walk,did KWP have an injury.?
Myers at right back wtf,surely you put Magassa there if so
Soucek did nothing but get in the way of his own players.
Marshall should have been on there for someone,Golambekis was never going to get on in a trillion years.
It makes no sense
Earthy should have come on for Paqueta not Soucek.

So people will say beat Forest and we not out of it so we'll keep Nuno, but he's done.
SO DEPRESSING
 

[Ron Eff]

I’ll start to sound like a broken record, but I am beginning to despise Kilman. Have a fucking backbone, for £40m, if nothing else. This pathetic excuse for a centre half dodges headers. He has no interest in heading the ball. Not from corners against nor corners for. Not from long balls into us that, at 6’4, should be his bread and butter. There was a clearance on the line from Mavropanos that the commentators initially said was Kilman, my immediate thought was not a chance that was Kilman, and then came their correction.

He makes Matt Upson look like a warrior. Another centre half lacking anything like a pair of bollocks, who ironically, is being paid to commentate on how our centre halves lack a pair of bollocks. 

[honky cat]

A hard watch but although Nuno makes some strange decisions what has he to work with? A striker who is gassed at 60 mins then we have to change shape . This is of course all down to Sullivan and the board. Need 3 or 4 to come straight into the team / squad in Jan or else we are done.

 

That's not gonna wash when they played with four 33 and over players for most of the game including Milner who is 40 this week. He should have kept Wilson on who wasn't fucked or injured as they couldn't deal with him. The boos that rang around the Stadium at the time he was hauled off all knew it too.

 

 

I thought wilson did look a bit stiff/slight limp going off. He also looked a bit suprised and pleased with the reaction.

[zico]

It's not "just" a centre forward we need though, bar at least three defenders! It's the right type of centre forward. Wilson is still a decent centre forward but will only feed off scraps in a defensive based counter attacking system. He hasn't got the pace or the legs to chase balls over the top. Same mistake we made with Haller, Scamacca and the crocked German. None of them were going to match Antonio's type of game and probably Antonio wouldn't have been the type of forward to play in a team based on front foot and possession. We never learn with recruitment.

[Massive Attack]

Brighton had a lot more shots almost double ours, more than double on target, a lot more passes and keeping possession. We somehow managed to get away with a draw at Home against an old biddie Brighton side devoid of confidence having not won in ages themselves. Absolutely dogshit.

[RBshorty]

PRIMED FOR THE DROP.!

This is the bleed out.

COYI

[Helmut Shown]

After that display they should bd planning for their next win. About December 2026 in the championship

[Sir Alf]

But Brighton are run professionally and have a long term plan / vision. They have a model that is geared to selling off some of the best players they develop. Employ cutting edge data analytics to get the best young prospects before they are too expensive. 

They have a “Brighton way” for their football philosophy and style based on high possession. All their teams at all levels pkay that way so that the young prospects seamlessly move up to the first team.  

We are tye antithesis of this. A megalomaniac owner who thinks he knows best and runs it like a market stall on the never never.

[bell]

The fact that Max Kilman is a professional footballer is truly astounding. 

[northbankboy68]

Paqueta's transfer value diminishes with each passing game.

[Massive Attack]

A hard watch but although Nuno makes some strange decisions what has he to work with? A striker who is gassed at 60 mins then we have to change shape . This is of course all down to Sullivan and the board. Need 3 or 4 to come straight into the team / squad in Jan or else we are done.

 

 

That's not gonna wash when they played with four 33 and over players for most of the game including Milner who is 40 this week. He should have kept Wilson on who wasn't fucked or injured as they couldn't deal with him. The boos that rang around the Stadium at the time he was hauled off all knew it too.

[goose]

We need to learn how to win a game before we start planning too far ahead. Sooner rather than later would be good.

[honky cat]

It was unfortunate Todibo went off. Probably our most improved player under Nuno.

[Rossal]

A hard watch but although Nuno makes some strange decisions what has he to work with? A striker who is gassed at 60 mins then we have to change shape . This is of course all down to Sullivan and the board. Need 3 or 4 to come straight into the team / squad in Jan or else we are done.

 

Yep. And how is it that we could ALL see that in the summer but seemingly no one at the club could?

 

 

We were 7/1 when the bookies opened up. I said on here it was the complete wrong price looking at our transfer business and how Potter finished the season.

Our season seemed to rely on Fullkrug as he was all over the social media videos laughing and joking as if that will alleviate the fact he cant run or hold the ball up.....or stay fit  

[Tomshardware]

We aint beating Wolves. They have been improving only narrowly beaten by Pool last game away and now rrawing at Mancs.  Their first win coming next week. Kilman hatrick own net. Hes sooooo slow but tyrm wuite a few in our team are.  

2nd half was like a bunch of teenagers giving an old mans team the run around at times. The speed thing is so important to win the loose or 2nd balls. We couldnt get near them at times and its been a theme for many years. 

We just dont seem to produce or recruit players with speed and athleticism very much. 



 

 

 

Yet Brightons squad is full of the players you describe aside from Wellbeck and Milner. 

[Sweep]

Think we got what we deserved over the last two games - one point. A bit fortunate tonight with the missed penalty, bit unlucky on Saturday.

Scarles was excellent for us tonight, looked every inch a PL player.

Find myself slightly mystified with the subbing of Magassa. 

The club have to give the manager more to work with up front so we don't have benches stuffed with academy CBs and defensive midfielders.

[Massive Attack]

Worst thing we could do is keep this wanker in charge to face a Wolverhampton bear pit against not one of his old sides but two immediately followed by Marinakis Forest hungry to beat him in to the ground. 

[Rossal]

And as predicted Kilman and Paqueta let us down. If i can see it a mile off why cant Nuno? 

 

[onsideman]

A hard watch but although Nuno makes some strange decisions what has he to work with? A striker who is gassed at 60 mins then we have to change shape . This is of course all down to Sullivan and the board. Need 3 or 4 to come straight into the team / squad in Jan or else we are done.

 

 

Yep. And how is it that we could ALL see that in the summer but seemingly no one at the club could?

[Any Old Iron]

There’s no getting away from the truth.  We are most definitely one of the three worst teams in the league and are doomed. 
As we all know this is mostly down to Sullivan and his ineptitude. The last two seasons he’s appointed three of the worst managers in our history and as long as he is pulling the strings we’ll be in trouble.
Him and Gold promised that under them the club would be reaching a new level. Well that’s certainly true. The problem is that we’re in such a fucking state that once Bowen has gone (and I wouldn’t blame him one little bit) I’m not confident we could even compete in the championship, especially when playing in a half empty toilet bowl.  
Sullivan and Brady have ruined our club and unless they’re ousted we only have years of yet more failure ahead of us. 

[Rossal]

---

---

Why didnt he have Marshall Ajala or Landers on the bench instead of Golambekis?  

As per the last 20 mins we hardly got in there half and were lucky they didnt score. 

We look leggy, out of ideas and absolutely nothing going forward 

As i said earlier backing him in the transfer market seems brainless as he must only have a few more games left way it is going

That team at the end there would be shit in the championship. How is he expecting to score a goal shoving Mayers at RB and Soucek and Kante in the middle.....genuine question?

[theaxeman]

Down hill as soon as he took Wilson off! Just conceded and took our attacking threat away. Lucky to hand on.

[Sir Alf]

We aint beating Wolves. They have been improving only narrowly beaten by Pool last game away and now rrawing at Mancs.  Their first win coming next week. Kilman hatrick own net. Hes sooooo slow but tyrm wuite a few in our team are.  

2nd half was like a bunch of teenagers giving an old mans team the run around at times. The speed thing is so important to win the loose or 2nd balls. We couldnt get near them at times and its been a theme for many years. 

We just dont seem to produce or recruit players with speed and athleticism very much. 

 

[onsideman]

I'm not chucking in the towel just yet. Beat Forest and we'll be 1 point away from them at worst.

Unless they beat Villa and we lose to Wolves, of course

[Massive Attack]

The same Wolves side who are currently drawing Man Utd at Old Trafford that was deemed 1 of our best recent performances to put that in perspective.