David Moyes is thrilled with the unity within West Ham's squad, with the Hammers well in contention for a European push in the back half of the season.
West Ham went down 3-0 at Chelsea on Monday, but have the chance to get back on track when they face struggling Brighton and Hove Albion.
After ensuring Premier League survival last season, Moyes has guided his team to six league wins so far this term.
"The most pleasing thing for me was how the players have come back and the group have got better," Moyes said. "We've made progress in many ways and the players have played well. They've done a lot of good things.
"When you're just outside the bottom three, and suddenly you've got yourself mingling near the top end and competing against nearly all the top sides, not looking out of place, I'd have to say 'well done' to the players.
"We've had some outstanding performers so far this season - some of our players are playing as well as anybody else in the country. We've also had big improvements from players who maybe over the last year or two have not played as well. From the players' point of view, they have to be really pleased with what they've done."
Brighton, meanwhile, will again be without key full-back Tariq Lamptey, who has a hamstring problem.
Graham Potter said: "It's not serious, it's just a slight problem with his hamstring. The nature of how he plays, you have to be careful, you don't want him to be away for a number of weeks.
"So I am expecting him to be back pretty soon. He's healing and recovering well.
"There's not another Tariq with the qualities and attributes that he has and that's the challenge for us to find the solution collectively."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
West Ham - Robert Snodgrass
West Ham midfielder Snodgrass has been directly involved in eight goals in 10 appearances against Brighton in all competitions (five goals, three assists) - against no side has he netted more times since joining Leeds United in the 2008-09 season.
Brighton and Hove Albion - Danny Welbeck
Welbeck, who netted a late equaliser against Sheffield United last time out, has scored four goals in all competitions against West Ham, only netting more against Aston Villa (five) and Southampton (five) in his career.
KEY OPTA FACTS
•West Ham are winless in all six of their Premier League meetings with Brighton, losing the first three and drawing the most recent three. The Seagulls are one of just two teams the Hammers have faced in the competition without ever winning.
•Brighton have lost just one of their last five away league games against West Ham (W2 D2), going down 0-6 in a Championship match in April 2012. The Seagulls are unbeaten in all three of their Premier League visits to the London Stadium (W1 D2).
•In their defeat at Chelsea last time out, West Ham failed to land a single shot on target for the first time in a Premier League game this season, while only in their defeat at Liverpool (four) have they had fewer shots than they did against the Blues (six).
•Brighton have only won one of their last 12 Premier League matches (D6 L5), winning 2-1 at Aston Villa in November. Indeed, each of the Seagulls' last four Premier League victories have come away from home.
•Moyes' last win over Brighton was back in January 2002 with Preston North End in the FA Cup. A win in this match will be his second-longest gap between wins over an opponent (18y 347d), behind only a 20-year and 109-day gap between wins against Gillingham (1999 and 2020).
No comments:
Post a Comment