After City debacle, 3 points at Brighton feels like a must for West Ham

Following a 5-0 defeat to Manchester City this past Saturday, many West Ham fans are starting to panic already.

Although I wouldn’t go that far, due to the fact that the Hammers played the back-to-back Premier League champions, the upcoming clash against Brighton feels like a massive game for the Irons. Losing 5-0 at home is never an ideal start to the season. However, if it’s going to be against any team, Manchester City is somewhat of an excuse for the performance by West Ham.

Pep’s squad looked incredible going forward and in defense, leaving the Hammers scrambling all around the pitch. The city tends to do this to most teams in the Premier League, so I do not think Saturday’s result is any indication of the season ahead. What it does do though, it creates nervous energy and pressure around the Brighton fixture.

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Brighton looked great on the first match-day, beating Watford away by a score of 3-0. The Hammers will need to come out and play well away from home to come away with anything from the match. Although it’s too early to worry about the season as a whole, I think many Hammers fans will want their nerves to be calmed with a great West Ham performance. The Hammers are notorious for slow starts in the Premier League, and a win away would do wonders for the confidence of not only the players but also the fan base.

Before the start of the season, many fans were wondering what the identity of this year’s squad would be. Pellegrini has set up a very attacking Hammers squad, however, if the Irons want to start piling up the wins, they must defend better. Regardless of who the opponent is, no team that is trying to compete for a European position in the table should be conceding 5 goals at home. The Hammers must improve in that regard.

Part of that improvement could be shuffling the back-line. Many fans, in particular, are calling for Aaron Cresswell to be dropped for Arthur Masuaku. I think a little shuffle to the defense would help the Hammers and Masuaku’s pace and ability could be what the side needs to get a result this Saturday.

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I am confident that West Ham will turn up this Saturday and put in a performance that we can all be proud of. I think this is a massive game for the confidence of the squad, and the Irons will want to start picking up points as soon as possible. You have to keep in mind, however, that if West Ham put in poor performance, the pressure and nerves will only keep increasing not only from the squad but from the fan-base as well.