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West Ham United’s midfield: The controlling factor away at Brighton

By Jeremiah Carson

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 05: Felipe Anderson of West Ham United avoids Bruno Salter of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United at American Express Community Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Brighton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 05: Felipe Anderson of West Ham United avoids Bruno Salter of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United at American Express Community Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Brighton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) /
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The two phrases that come to mind in sports are defense wins championships and offense wins games. For the game of football and for West Ham United this week, however,  the midfield will be the controlling factor at Brighton.

Without a solid midfield for any football club, including West Ham, you would just have two separate entities. The defense looking to control the other squad while helping the goalie and the offense trying to score and move up the pitch. But without a midfield, none of that connects.

West Ham has without a doubt a solid midfield. Having both attacking and defending presence on the pitch at all times. Earlier this week our own Scott Johnson wrote an article on analyzing the Watford v Brighton match and how the Hammers can use that against them this weekend.

Scott went on to note that we must keep up the pressure while keeping notice of the defense and how Brighton moved formations on and off the ball, something Watford struggled with. Once again, West Ham’s midfield will come into play for both of these analytical finds.

A Midfield that defends

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 10: Raheem Sterling of Manchester City is challenged by Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadium on August 10, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 10: Raheem Sterling of Manchester City is challenged by Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadium on August 10, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

Depending on how the Hammers line up, we can see a formation anywhere from a 4-1-4-1 to a 4-3-3. Regardless of the formation, West Ham needs to support the defense and in turn, Declan Rice. Declan Rice is world-class and already on the radar each time the English international squad is announced. But he cannot do it alone.

Also. Hammers defense needs to tighten up against Seagulls. light

Brighton likes to work the ball wide which will pull Rice out with it to help defend but if nobody else steps back to help the center of the pack, it could be along day for West Ham. Something we’ve seen before is Rice coming out to trap the attacking winger and someone else, in this case, Wilshere, stepping down to cover the middle of the defense.

Also, Felipe Anderson and Arthur Masuaku developed a great connection last season and their chemistry was key to helping defend as well. Let’s hope that he and Cresswell can do the same if Cress still starts this week. However, it will mean nothing if the back half of that midfield cannot step up and help out the retreating defenders.