West Ham predicted XI vs Brighton as one change made with £10m defender set for recall

West Ham United will hope to round off what has been a positive week when they visit Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening.

Fresh from completing the signing of England midfielder James Ward-Prowse, The Hammers produced a display full of passion and commitment to claim a 3-1 home win against Chelsea on Sunday, despite going down to ten men midway through the second-half. The momentum continued in midweek when Hammers manager David Moyes boosted his defensive ranks with the £17 million addition of Stuttgart and Greece centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Despite the positivity surrounding the club, the trip to face Brighton remains a significant challenge with the hosts looking build on a stunning start to the season that has seen them ease to consecutive 4-1 wins against Luton Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Hammers team news

The main decision for Moyes to make seems to come at the heart of his defence. Nayef Aguerd will serve a suspension after he was shown two yellow cards in the impressive win over Chelsea last weekend and there are three possible options for the Hammers boss.

Former Paris Saint-Germain defender Thilo Kehrer looks the most likely to parter Kurt Zouma after he recovered from a back injury that ruled him out of the win over Mauricio Pochettino’s side. However, Angelo Ogbonna is also in contention after he came off the bench to replace Said Benrahma in the aftermath of Augerd’s dismissal.

A third option could see Moyes hand a first start to summer signing Edson Alvarez, who is able to play in a deep-lying midfield role and at the heart of the defence. The former Ajax star could also make a case for a place in midfield - although the performances of Tomas Soucek, Paqueta and debutant Ward-Prowse mean it is highly unlikely Moyes will make any changes in his engine room.

One other option that can definitely be ruled out is Mavropanos. The former Arsenal defender completed a £17million move to West Ham earlier this week but is still recovering from an injury that hampered the latter weeks of his time with Bundesliga club Stuttgart. Speaking about the Greek defender in his pre-match press conference, Hammers boss Moyes said: “No he's not fit, he had a couple of injuries when he came in which has slowed things down, so he's not available.”

So how could the Hammers look when they face Brighton on Saturday evening?

Full predicted XI

Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Kehrer, Emerson; Soucek, Ward-Prowse; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Antonio.