Kurt Zouma is hoping to draw on his own fond personal memories of the Amex Stadium when West Ham United travel to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday for a 5.30pm kick-off being broadcast live by Sky Sports.
While the Hammers are yet to record a Premier League victory at the Seagulls’ home ground in six attempts, Zouma himself has scored there twice, including one in former club Chelsea’s top-flight victory on the south coast in August 2020.
Since then, Zouma has joined West Ham and not beaten Brighton in four attempts, while the Seagulls themselves have gone from strength to strength under Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi, finishing sixth last season to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history.
The No4 will not want to be reminded of the results on his two visits to Brighton in a Claret and Blue shirt, but he and his teammates will travel to the Sussex seaside with rising belief they can end that winless run at the Amex following last weekend’s home win over Chelsea.
“It feels really good and the confidence is there, especially after a good win like that,” the France centre-back confirmed. “We know how tough the Premier League is, so we have to take it game by game, but the way we have started in our first two games is very promising for the rest. We have a tough game at the weekend, so we have to prepare well for it.
“It’s going to be a good test for us. Last year we conceded four there and for the past year they have been playing so well. They have been scoring a lot of goals at the start of the season as well, but we have prepared well for this game at the weekend, and we’ll be ready.
“We know we will have to suffer there, but we also have the weapons to hurt them, so hopefully we’re going to have a good game there.”
Zouma has worn the captain’s armband in each of West Ham’s opening two Premier League fixtures and has relished being put into a leadership position by manager David Moyes for two such important matches.
The Chelsea win was preceded by a 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth and, with four points more than they had collected at this stage last season, the 28-year-old is enjoying being part of a squad high on confidence after those performances and being roared on by an ever-loyal and passionate Claret and Blue Army.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable!” Zouma smiled, recalling the noise created by the capacity 62,500-strong crowd at London Stadium, as the UEFA Europa Conference League winners marked their return home with a victory over their local rivals.
“On derby days at home against a tough team, the fans help us and we got a strong win. It felt very sweet for me, especially after I spent many, many years at Chelsea, and I captained West Ham in this game which was very special for me and my family as well.
“I was so pleased to have captained the team and we managed to win!”
While Zouma is now in his third season in east London, he has been joined this summer by three new teammates in Edson Álvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Dinos Mavropano – three international players who have added character and quality to the squad as a busy 2023/24 campaign gets up and running.
He observed: “It brings new energy seeing new faces and we have to help them learn the shape of the team and the tactics, while the competition for places means training is sharper and becomes even better as well.
“We have added some good players and some good people. We have spent time with them already and you can feel how kind and good they are, so that’s good for the team.”
