Brighton vs West Ham preview: Veltman returns and Fabian Hurzeler issues clear message to 'unhappy' fans

Brighton face West Ham in a Premier League clash on Saturday April 25.

Following a five-game winless streak in the Premier League, Brighton have slipped down into 10th position in the table. Albion fans hopes of Europe next season currently hang by a thread.

A big result against Graham Potter’s West Ham side would be massive for the morale going into the last fixtures.

Last time out, Brighton suffered a painful 4-2 defeat away against Brentford, who are also looking to sneak into a European place for the next campaign. A brace from Bryan Mbeumo, one from Yoane Wissa and Norgaard’s header sealed the deal for The Bees.

However, Brighton looked sluggish in this one and lacked discipline. Namely, Joao Pedro was dismissed in the 61st minute after elbowing Collins at a crucial point of the game.

Brighton have lost just one of their 15 Premier League games with West Ham, winning six and drawing eight (the loss was a 3-1 defeat in this exact fixture last season though!).

Despite this, The Hammers have taken five points from their last nine against the Albion in the league (winning one and drawing two).

A big boost in this one for Brighton fans will be the return of defender Joel Veltman.

He’s available to face West Ham after a 10-match absence with an ankle injury.

The Dutch defender picked up the issue after the 3-0 Premier League win against Chelsea last February.

The right back position has been an issue Fabian Hurzeler. Tariq Lamptey has also been on the sidelines with a foot injury of his own.

In the pre-match press conference before Albion face West Ham, the Brighton boss revealed that Lamptey has also recovered at the same time as Veltman.

He’s expected to be in the matchday squad too as Graham Potter’s team arrive at the Amex Stadium.

Graham Potter’s only previous Premier League meeting with his former side was back in October, 2022 with Chelsea. The Blues were swept away in a crushing 4-1 defeat.

No other manager has lost by over three goals in their first two meetings with the same former club in Premier League history. He’ll be hoping he’s not the first! After Fabian Hurzeler’s pre-match press conference, Derren Howard and Henry Bryant discussed The Seagulls’ latest team news, injuries and more.

Watch our video above.

For your next Albion read: Brighton fans will not be happy with PGMOL announcement ahead of their West Ham clash