West Ham United

James Jones
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Unlike 2023, it has been tough to choose my West Ham moment of the year.

It's been a difficult 12 months. A glorious 2023 ended with us beating Manchester United and Arsenal and there was loads of optimism that we would follow it up with further progress.

But that just hasn't happened. Form fell off dramatically in the second half of last season and David Moyes left the club in the summer. Since then, with Julen Lopetegui at the helm there's been very little improvement.

In short, 2024 has been a very forgettable year for West Ham.

But there was one moment that will live long in the memory: the second-leg of the Europa League quarter-finals against Bayer Leverkusen in April.

We had a mountain to climb. Not just because we'd lost the first-leg 2-0 but because Xabi Alonso's side were on a 43-game unbeaten run and had just been crowned Bundesliga champions. They were literally unbeatable.

But in the first-half West Ham were magnificent. We had Leverkusen rattled and on the ropes. Michail Antonio put us 1-0 up in the 13th minute and London Stadium was absolutely rocking. Our attacking play was relentless. Defensively it didn't matter, there was barely any defending to be done. Leverkusen couldn't get the ball.

For 45 minutes there was a real belief that West Ham were about to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Europa League history. That might sound far-fetched, but having to overcome a two-goal deficit against a team that hadn't lost in almost an entire year requires a literal miracle.

As the game wore on, our players understandably got tired and Leverkusen started to threaten. Our hopes of reaching the semi-finals were short-lived but were replaced with the hope of at least beating Leverkusen. No one had managed it that season. But in true Leverkusen fashion, they levelled in the 89th minute and remained unbeaten.

We were out but we came some close to a historic win on the night. It was a performance we rarely witnessed under Moyes and are yet to see under Lopetegui. It was unbelievable.

I'll never forget that night. Hopefully we'll have more of that to look forward to. One day...

Find more from James Jones at We Are West Ham, external

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Premier League game against Southampton (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On availability: "We have a little problem with two players. Let's see over the next days if they are ready for Southampton."

• On solutions for Michail Antonio's absence: "We've lost an important player for a long time. We have [Niclas] Fullkrug and Danny Ings is doing well. We can [also] use Jarrod Bowen. We have to take advantage of the best solution in each situation."

• Asked if Fullkrug needs to start more games to see him improve, Lopetegui said: "There isn't one rule in football. Sometimes he can start in the line-up, and sometimes on the bench. The most important thing is that the whole squad are ready to be main actors."

• On Thursday's opponents: "They are a good team despite being on the bottom. They have quality players and now they have a new coach, so there will be an extra energy."

• On Ivan Juric, he added: "I know him because he has worked a lot in Italy with success. He is an experimental coach and I think he will do good things."

Follow all of Monday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Andy Stevenson
Final Score reporter at London Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

It will be fascinating to see whether Julen Lopetegui feels he has to dip into the transfer market for another striker in January.

In the long-term absence of Michail Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug was handed his first Premier League start of the season against Brighton, but he barely got a kick and was substituted after 57 minutes.

The man who starred for Germany at Euro 2024, before signing for the Hammers for a reported £27m, may well be short of fitness but he will need to step up quickly if West Ham are to improve their form and move up the table.

Jarrod Bowen can play through the middle and Crysencio Summerville probably feels he should be given more starts, but the onus will surely be on Fullkrug to start making an impact soon.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between West Ham and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

West Ham fans

Manny: The stats show we had a fair share of the possession, but Brighton were the better team. Julen still doesn't know his best starting XI. Mavropanos is not a Premier League player. Kudus is always better on the right. Paqueta is a waste of time. Brighton looked fitter and were stronger everywhere. Bowen and Wan-Bissaka the only players to emerge with any credit. A lucky point, as it could have been a thrashing.

Rich: It's sad to be relieved at getting a point. It looked like we were playing for the draw towards the end, but there are enough creative players in the squad to mean that this is not acceptable.

John: I feel sorry for the players. The manager is constantly changing players and formation, which creates chaos within the team. After Bowen and Kudus came together to equalise, the mood of the team and fans lifted, so what does Lopetegui do? He changes to a flat back five, which creates a hole in midfield and a disconnect between defence and attack. Most of the substitutions were head-scratchers. Lopetegui needs to leave, as soon as Christmas is over.

Matt: Mediocrity is what Lopetegui has to offer. He is a decent guy but his selections and substitutions are holding us back. I would give Graham Potter a go while the season still has prospects. Summerville should be a starter.

Brighton fans

Linda: Disappointing. We should be scoring so many goals with the performances we are putting in, although the passing is not always good enough. A few shots from outside the box wouldn't go a miss, as we appear to be trying to walk the ball into the net from two yards in, through a bank of opponents.

Robert: It is now becoming increasingly frustrating that we have no killer instinct. We create many chances but fail to capitalise on them. Then, as soon as we score, we make a stupid mistake and seem to get punished every time. So many points dropped now from our lack of taking chances and failing to keep a clean sheet. Time to get the tin hats on, get out of this rut, build some confidence and fight for every point. They are capable of much better, let's hope they find the belief to improve. Come on, Albion.

Dan: Another game, another mediocre performance from Brighton. Hurzeler needs a plan B, otherwise his high-pressure style might drag us down because all the other sides know how we play.

Dave: Absolute rubbish again! We need to sort this out.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures, including Manchester City's visit to Aston Villa and the London derby between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• West Ham 1-1 Brighton

• Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal

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West Ham goalscorer Mohammed Kudus has been speaking to Premier League Productions about his celebration involving a wooden stool: "It is a special stool, a stool from Ghana.

"With my celebration, I see a lot of people doing it so I thought why not do something different?

"I thought it would be nice to share a little bit of life from where I'm from."

Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

This season Mohammed Kudus has not quite been the force of nature he was during his debut campaign with West Ham.

A key figure under former boss David Moyes it has taken his successor Julen Lopetegui a while to figure out quite how to use the 24-year-old.

Inevitably this has led to speculation linking the Ghana international with a move away from the London Stadium.

However, there are few signs that Kudus is hankering for a transfer.

Certainly the manner in which he celebrated his goal against Brighton - sitting on a wooden elephant stool with team-mate Crysencio Summerville - is not the behaviour of someone unhappy with life.

"Obviously I've played most of my games on the right last season, but it's about the team," Kudus said afterwards.

"Playing on the left now I need to try to learn and adapt. As much as I want to play on the right, I'll do my best for the team."

Kudus's third goal of the season will give him confidence heading into a hectic run of fixtures over the Christmas period.

West Ham fans voted goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski their player of the match with an average rating of 7.33, but with a score of 7.28 Kudus was not far behind.

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham United have won just one of their 15 Premier League matches against Brighton (D8 L6), with their 6.7% win rate against the Seagulls being their lowest against any side they have faced three or more times in the competition.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on West Ham's performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

There are 10 Premier League teams in action on Saturday:

• Aston Villa v Manchester City (12:30)

• Brentford v Nottingham Forest

• Ipswich v Newcastle

• West Ham v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Crystal Palace v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 17, he takes on Reverend & the Makers singer Jon McClure.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

I genuinely believe these predictions have been harder than ever this season because so many teams are closely matched. It's either that or I am becoming really stupid, so take your pick.

This game is another example of one that is very difficult to call.

Other than Jarred Bowen's performances, I don't feel like West Ham have given me any reason to back them under Julen Lopetegui, while Brighton are on their worst run of the season and winless in four.

Of course the Hammers are missing Michail Antonio, and I hope he recovers soon. In his absence, Niclas Fullkrug might finally get his chance up front. In the summer, I picked him as being one to watch - but West Ham fans have barely seen him at all so far.

Brighton got walloped by Crystal Palace last weekend, and also showed their soft side in their previous game when they let a two-goal lead slip against Leicester, but I do feel they have the capacity to bounce back.

Again, I see some goals in this one and I am going with Brighton to sneak it. Kaoru Mitoma is in my Fantasy Premier League team and I reckon he will get the winner.

McClure's prediction: 1-3

Brighton have got another great manager in Fabian Hurzeler.

When I go on about what Sheffield Wednesday (who McClure supports) do wrong and you look at an example of how they should do it, then I look at the way Brighton go about their business.

They are just a well-run club, while our hot taps don't run in our toilets at Hillsborough, and haven't done for three years. That tells you everything you need to know about us. It's like, come on, we can do much better than this.

Read the full predictions and have your say

Holly Bacon
BBC Sport journalist

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Brighton (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Lopetegui said the squad will be similar to the team that drew at Bournemouth on Monday. However, one player, who he did not name, might miss out: "Today we had a little problem with one player so we have to check and assist. [We'll make a decision] tonight about if he is going to play or not."

• On Lucas Paqueta not starting in recent games: "I think he showed he is ready despite not playing the last two matches. In current football, the bench players are of similar importance or more importance sometimes than those in the line-up. They can change one match and they are key. All of them have to understand this. Lucas has worked very hard and he is always ready to help us."

• He expects Niclas Fulkrug to be an important player for West Ham: "Unfortunately for us and for him, he had one injury and has been out of the team for three months. After that, he is not able to start but to recover and be ready for the demands of the Premier League. I assure that he is going to be an important player for us. The team is going to need him."

• On Brighton and their head coach Fabian Hurzeler: "I think that he's done very well despite his age. He's showing that he's ready for the demands the Premier League has. I think he's a good person, good coach and [has] a good future They are a good team who have had a similar idea for the last years, with different coaches."

• He was also asked how management is changing: "The managers who have come in are ready. Age isn't important - it's the same with players."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Full commentary of West Ham v Brighton from 15:00 GMT on Saturday on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

Footballer reporter for The Sun Jack Rosser previews Brighton's match against West Ham on the most recent episode of BBC Radio Sussex's, Albion Unlimited: "It's a game that West Ham dread every season because they have a bad record against Brighton. It should be entertaining.

"I think Brighton are probably looking better going forward, but both teams are struggling at the back this season. Both teams can be cut open, so there's definitely a chance for a good game.

"West Ham, a lot of people arrive going in thinking, there's no way we can win, the midfield is rubbish, everything is going wrong, we all hate the manager and then Tomas Soucek scores and cheers everyone up. Soucek is another player, who similar to Michail Antonio shouldn't still be playing in the Premier League, but is a great survivor in that team and makes a great impact at times. West Ham are definitely there to be got at if Brighton are at it going forwards."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, PA Media

Looking at video clips of Julen Lopetegui being brought to tears during his time at Sevilla when his father, Jose, rang a radio station he was appearing on to express his devotion to his son, it is hard not to feel sympathy for the former Real Madrid and Spain coach.

Lopetegui is suffering the heartbreak only someone who has lost a parent truly understands. Even at the age of 94, his dad was a link to his childhood, a constant for all his life, a supporter through good times and bad, and now he is no longer there.

It is the brutal reality that being a football manager is unlikely many other professions. You can take compassionate leave but your team does not stop playing. The pressure for results remains, so the outcome can affect situations, for good and bad.

This is where Lopetegui is now - heartbroken at the loss of one of the people he cares most about, knowing that person has taken immense pride at what he has achieved - but knowing if West Ham lose against Brighton on Saturday, his job security will reduce.

Football, it is claimed, is the most important of things that are not important. For Lopetegui, that is not quite right. For him at the moment, it is probably the least important of all the things that are important.

West Ham are leading the race with Leicester City and Southampton to sign 20-year-old Republic of Ireland forward Evan Ferguson from Brighton. (Givemesport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Brighton are unbeaten in all seven of their Premier League away games against West Ham, winning two and drawing five. Both of those facts are the most times they have faced an opponent on the road without ever losing.

Brighton are also the opponent West Ham have faced the most at home without ever winning in the competition.

Brighton have won five of their nine Premier League games against sides starting the day in the top half of the table this season, drawing two and losing two. By contrast, they have won just one of their seven games against teams in the bottom half of the table, drawing four and losing two.

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui has gone back to Spain to attend the funeral of his father.

In the manager's absence, two members of his coaching staff, Pablo Sanz and Edu Rubio are taking training. Lopetegui could potentially return for the Premier League game against Brighton on Saturday in the Premier League

His father Jose, who died at 94, was a champion weightlifter and competed in the Basque sport of stone-lifting.

"The thoughts and sincere condolences of everyone at the club are with Julen, his family and friends, and we kindly ask that their privacy is respected at this time." a club spokesperson said on Wednesday.