Brighton & Hove Albion v West Ham United
Premier League, American Express Stadium, Saturday 26 April 2025, 3pm BST
Just five games of the 2024/25 Premier League season remain, and West Ham United will be hoping to kickstart a flying finish when they return to action away at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
A 1-1 draw with Southampton last time out extended Graham Potter's side's winless run to six games, and left them 17th in the table, though they sit 15 points clear of the relegation zone and only two off Everton in 13th.
Victory on the south coast will be the sole aim this weekend then, with Potter looking for success against a club he managed between 2019 and 2022, and led to a then record-high top-flight finish of ninth in 2021/22.
The Hammers claimed their first and only Premier League win over Brighton in this fixture last season, when James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio all contributed to a 3-1 scoreline, and after a 1-1 draw in this term's reverse clash, they will be aware of the threats posed by Fabian Hürzeler's Seagulls.
Having taken points off each of the top-five quartet Arsenal, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United this campaign, Brighton had worked themselves into serious European contention before enduring an ongoing five-game winless run of their own, that has left them tenth as things stand.
As the build-up to matchday continues, scroll down below to find all the information you need ahead of kick-off...
Tickets…
West Ham fans are advised that the Club’s allocation of 3,001 tickets have sold out.
The first 90 per cent of tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 27+ Loyalty Points. The remaining ten per cent (301 tickets) were then made available by a ballot process to Season Ticket Holders who had yet to purchase for this fixture. This ballot closed at 12noon on Tuesday 1 April.
Travel…
American Express Stadium is easily reachable by public transport, as it is just a few minutes’ walk from Falmer railway station, itself a short train ride from either Brighton or Lewes station.
Trains depart regularly from both London Blackfriars and London Victoria, with a journey time of around an hour to either Brighton or Lewes. From there, change for a service to Falmer.
Train and bus travel within the local area is free of charge to ticket holders on matchday.
If you would like to drive, Brighton has excellent car parking facilities available to both home and away supporters at two park and ride sites at Mill Road (postcode BN1 8ZF) and Brighton Racecourse (BN2 9XZ).
Parking at American Express Stadium has already sold out for this fixture, but free motorbike parking and bike racks are available on-site.
How To Follow…
Saturday’s 3pm kick-off will NOT be broadcast live in the UK, but will be shown across the world by the Premier League’s international broadcast partners.
If you live outside the UK, click HERE for details of Premier League listings in your territory.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app, and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle on our website and social media.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK on talkSPORT 2, and worldwide on our official website and app.
Team News…
On-loan striker Evan Ferguson is ineligible to face his parent club on Saturday, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Edson Álvarez will likely be assessed having missed last weekend's draw with Southampton through injury.
Long-term absentees Crysencio Summerville and Michail Antonio remain on the sidelines, meanwhile.
Brighton are set to be without a number of their players due to injury issues, including Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Georginio Rutter, Adam Webster, James Milner, Igor Julio, Jason Steele, Tariq Lamptey, Joël Veltman and Jan Paul van Hecke.
Opposition…
Is there a better-run club in English football than Brighton & Hove Albion?
Despite selling a succession of players for combined fees totalling more than £400million since the summer of 2021, the Seagulls continue to fly high in the Premier League.
Ben White, Dan Burn, Leandro Trossard, Marc Cucurella, Yves Bissouma, Alexis Mac Allister, Robert Sánchez, Moisés Caicedo, Pascal Groß and Billy Gilmour have all departed the Amex Stadium in recent seasons and gone on to impress at their respective new homes.
While some clubs might have struggled after losing such a large number of seemingly vital members of their squad, Brighton have somehow continued to compete in the best league in the world.
Brighton’s owner since 2009, local businessman Tony Bloom is the man who has overseen the incredible transformation on the Sussex coast.
Under Bloom’s leadership, Brighton have risen from EFL League One to reach the knockout stages of last season’s UEFA Europa League.
The question every other club in the country should surely be asking is, how?
Put simply, Brighton have a philosophy which they follow, on and off the pitch, and they stick to it.
While some may panic-buy when results or performances dip, Brighton have stuck to their principles - namely identifying young, up-and-coming, talented players and coaches with the potential to develop and improve to the highest level.
While many clubs are reticent to offer opportunities to those players and coaches, instead opting for experienced - almost always far more expensive - alternatives, Brighton’s assured confidence in their philosophy means they are not afraid to try out the untested on the pitch and in the dugout.
In 2018, Bloom bought Belgian second-tier club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (USG). They won promotion in 2021, then finished second in the top-flight and won the Belgian Cup last season. USG have also assisted Brighton by serving as a testing ground for some of the young players bought by the Seagulls, then sent on loan to Brussels, including current regulars Simon Adingra and Kaoro Mitoma.
Brighton have also developed an outstanding worldwide scouting network that has seen them bring in a succession of future stars from overseas, with South America a particular area of strength.
In the dugout, Bloom has made a series of appointments of head coaches with no previous Premier League managerial experience, including current Hammers boss Graham Potter, Roberto De Zerbi and, last summer, 32-year-old German Fabian Hürzeler.
Their form may have been patchy in recent weeks, but Brighton have shown they can mix it with the best once again this term when beating the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United, and with five games to go sit just one point off eighth, which could be good enough for another European adventure.
Of course, sport is not science, but former gambler Bloom and his Brighton have seemingly found a winning formula.
Previous Meetings…
We have been to the Amex Stadium eight times previously, once in the EFL Championship and seven times in the Premier League.
The first visit, on 24 October 2011, ended in a 1-0 victory courtesy of Kevin Nolan’s opportunistic winning goal, when he fired past his good friend Steve Harper in the Brighton & Hove Albion net.
After losing four and drawing two of our first six Premier League trips there, we finally scored a top-flight success at Brighton’s newish home last season, when James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio scored in a 3-1 victory in August 2023.
That result was also our first top-flight win at Brighton at any venue, as we lost on both visits to the Goldstone Ground in the First Division in 1981/82 and 1982/83.
Match Officials…
Referee: Darren England
Assistant Referees: Ian Hussin and Akil Howson
Fourth Official: Simon Hooper
VAR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes
Darren England will referee West Ham United’s Premier League away fixture at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
The 39-year-old has been part of Professional Game Match Officials Limited’s (PGMOL) Select Group One since the start of the 2020/21 season.
This weekend’s visit to East Sussex will mark the eighth occasion England has been the man in the middle for a West Ham fixture.
The first was an EFL Cup defeat at Everton in September 2020, while the most recent was the 1-0 home Premier League defeat to Brentford in February 2025.
England has also acted as fourth official for ten Premier League matches involving the Hammers, and Video Assistant Referee for five, including four this season.
Previously, Doncaster-born England has also refereed the 2017 EFL League Two Play-Off final between Blackpool and Exeter City, in the EFL Championship, FA Cup, EFL Cup and in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying.
For more information about the officials, click HERE.
