Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United have a long history that stretches back to their first encounter in October 1903 – a game the south coast club won 3-2.
Football FanCast has everything you need to know about the Premier League fixture before the two sides clash at the Amex on Saturday.
While it's hard to extrapolate too much in terms of form from just two league games, both sides should be going into the contest feeling confident.
The Hammers come into the game fresh from a brilliant 3-1 home win over Chelsea, while the Seagulls bagged a 4-1 away victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Brighton vs West Ham: What's their head-to-head record?
Despite first meeting in 1903, the two sides have only played one another 32 times in all competitions in the intervening 120 years.
This lack of games is partly due to the massive 45-year gap between their clashes in 1933 and 1978 and a 13-year break between 1991 and 2004 without a match-up.
Indeed, made their way up and down the English football pyramid before breaking back into the top two tiers in the late 1970s.
By the late 80s, they were back in Division Three, and after another relegation to the third tier in 1992, the sides didn't meet again until they were both Championship sides.
The Seagulls took the long way back to the big time via League One, and are now a fixture of the top flight alongside West Ham after over three decades out.
When they have played each other, it has generally been a closely fought affair, with Brighton just edging it in terms of overall wins at 11, while their east London competition have won ten, leaving 11 encounters as draws.
Brighton wins: 11 Draws: 11 West Ham wins: 10 Brighton vs West Ham: What's their record on the south coast?
15 of the 32 fixtures have come at Brighton's various home grounds, and have unsurprisingly been where the Seagulls have had the most amount of luck. They've won eight games when playing as hosts – more than double what they've managed in the capital.
There have been five draws along the way, and perhaps most impressively, just two defeats.
Brighton wins: 8 Draws: 5 West Ham wins: 2 Brighton vs West Ham: What's their record at Upton Park/London Stadium?
This fixture has been played at Upton Park or the London Stadium 17 times since 1903, and the results are pretty much just a reverse of the ones on the south coast.
The Hammers have come out on top in eight of their matches against Brighton in east London, drawing six and losing just three – although that is still one more loss than Brighton have suffered at home.
West Ham wins: 8 Draws: 6 Brighton wins: 3 Brighton vs West Ham: What's their Premier League record?
While the overall picture between these two sides is one of balance in terms of results, that certainly hasn't been the case in the Premier League, as since Brighton won promotion to the top flight in 2017, it has very much been one-way traffic.
In their 12 league meetings since that promotion, Brighton have found themselves on the winning side six times, drawing the other six games – meaning their claret and blue opponents have yet to beat them in the league since their return six years ago.
Interestingly, the six draws all came consecutively between August 2019 and December 2021, suggesting that there has still been some competition, there. However, the last three games have all been convincing wins for Brighton.
Brighton wins: 6 Draws: 6 West Ham wins: 0 Brighton vs West Ham: Which team has the most goals?
With the two sides being pretty even over the last century, with periods of dominance for both teams, it's not all that surprising to see that their goalscoring records are also incredibly similar.
When Brighton play host, they have scored 27 goals across all competitions, conceding just 13. West Ham have scored one more when hosting at 28, but have also conceded more, letting in 18 as being the home team.
Brighton vs West Ham: What happened in last season's fixtures?
Brighton came away with six out of six points last season, edging out West Ham early on in the season at the London Stadium and completely blowing them away at the Amex seven months later.
In the first encounter, Alexis Mac Allister gave the visitors the lead from the spot in the 22nd minute following a foul on Danny Welbeck from Thilo Kehrer. They doubled their lead in the 66th minute thanks to a brilliant strike from Leandro Trossard.
The reverse fixture was a demolition job by the Seagulls, becoming their biggest-ever win against the Hammers.
Brighton vs West Ham: What is Danny Welbeck's record?
Welbeck tends to excel against West Ham, regardless of who he is playing for. In total, the former Arsenal man has come up against the east London outfit on 21 occasions – the most he has faced any team other than Tottenham Hotspur – and has been on the victorious side 13 times.
The Hammers are also the team that Welbeck has scored the most goals against in his career, finding the back of the net seven times and providing four assists for his teammates.
The Irons might be hoping Roberto De Zerbi opts for Evan Ferguson or Joao Pedro up top for this one.
Brighton vs West Ham: What is Michail Antonio's record?
Michail Antonio has played Brighton more than any other side in his career, but probably doesn't look forward to the fixture too much considering he has been on the victorious side just three times out of a possible 19.
The other 16 fixtures have resulted in eight defeats and eight ties, with the Jamaica international scoring just two goals and providing another two assists over that period.
Brighton vs West Ham: What is Brighton's biggest win?
As alluded to above, the Seagulls' biggest win over their east London opponents came earlier this year when they won 4-0 at home in early March.
Mac Allister opened the scoring in the 18th minute, converting from the penalty spot for a second time against the Hammers last term after Jarrod Bowen bundled over Kaoru Mitoma.
Fans had to wait until the 51st minute for another goal, but once Joel Veltman doubled his side's lead, it was plain sailing, with Mitoma and Welbeck also getting involved in the action to complete a comprehensive win.
David Moyes' team will have to forget about that performance if they want to get anything out of the game this weekend.
Brighton vs West Ham: What is West Ham's biggest win?
While Brighton's 4-0 win is undoubtedly impressive, the Hammers have been able to go two better in the past, smashing six past Peter Brezovan in April 2012 to win 6-0 in the Championship.
The scoring was opened by Ricardo Vaz Te in the third minute, with the tricky winger going on to add another in the eighth minute and a third in the 62nd minute, with the rout rounded off with a Gary Dicker own goal in the 78th minute.
Kevin Nolan and Carlton Cole were the other goalscorers on the day, with the Hammers boosting their promotion bid, which was eventually successfully achieved through the play-offs.
Brighton vs West Ham: What are the recent results?
It's pretty clear that between these two teams, Brighton have pretty much dominated the Premier League era, and that is clearly reflected in the recent results between the sides.
The most recent game – in March – ended 4-0. The two preceding results finished 2-0, and 3-1, both in Brighton's favour – with West Ham only able to score a single goal in reply to the Seagulls' nine across those three games.
The six matches before that run of Brighton victories were all score draws; however, the three before which preceded that were also all Brighton wins – leaving the Hammers winless in the last 12.
Brighton vs West Ham: When is it?
Brighton & Hove Albion host West Ham United on Saturday 26th August at 5.30pm (UK time), and will be broadcast on Sky Sports.
It may not be one of the marquee matchups in the Premier League, but it's a tie that has served up plenty of goals and action in the past, and both teams have a lot to play for this season.
Brighton are still under the guidance of the charismatic and intriguing De Zerbi, who is tasked with taking them on a European journey this year without their midfield stalwart from last season, Moises Caicedo.
However, the arrival of Joao Pedro promises to add even more attacking threat to one of the league's most entertaining sides to watch.
On the other hand, West Ham will also have a European journey of their own to contend without last season's midfield general, this time Declan Rice.
That said, when it comes to their league campaign, Moyes' men will likely be aiming to simply avoid another relegation battle this season and to bed in their new talent.
The arrivals of James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez have given many fans reason to be excited, and after the side's excellent performance against the free-spending Chelsea last weekend, there is no reason not to be.
