West Ham and Brighton face each other in the Premier League’s opening clash of Gameweek 9 on Friday night.Both teams will see the fixture as a big chance to claim all three points; the Irons will expect as much upon hosting a newly-promoted side lacking top-tier quality, but the Seagulls will be inspired by the inconsistency Slaven Bilic’s boys have shown this season and hope for their first win on the road.The ambitions of both clubs, however, will inevitably be impacted by the injury problems facing them before kickoff. So here’s a look at the latest injury news and consequently, the likeliest starting XIs at the London Stadium…[ad_pod id=’leo-vegas’]

West Ham

West Ham’s squad does nothing if not offer Bilic option in attack, however his forward ranks are depleted somewhat heading into Friday’s game.

For starters, Andy Carroll is suspended after his double-booking against Burnley and that should be a worry in itself, considering the Hammers are yet to claim any points in the Premier League without their target man starting this season. On top of that, Diafra Sakho is also injured and Javier Hernandez remains a doubt – although the Mexican poacher should be available to start.

The only other absences are James Collins, not an automatic starter anyway, and Adrian, who is behind Joe Hart in the pecking order.

With that in mind, it’s likely Bilic will set up his boys using some variation of 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-2-1 – the ultimate difference being whether Manuel Lanzini plays closer to the attack or the engine room.

Brighton

Brighton, too, will enter Friday’s game without the focal point of their attack with Tomer Hemed still serving a retrospective punishment for stamping on Newcastle’s DeAndre Yedlin.

That didn’t stop Chris Hughton’s side from scoring against Everton last time out though and Hemed’s stand-in, on-loan Izzy Brown, is an exciting young player even if he lacks the physicality and experience to truly impose himself on West Ham’s defence.

Don’t rule out the prospect of the considerably more seasoned Glenn Murray leading the line instead though.

Perhaps the bigger concern, however, is centre-back Shane Duffy. His partnership with Lewis Dunk helped take the Seagulls to the top flight and the Ireland international has been an important player for Hughton once again this season, clearing and heading away balls left, right and centre.

He’s expected to take a late fitness test for a groin strain but Brighton will certainly miss the commanding centre-back if he doesn’t recover in time for Friday’s kick-off. In terms of formations, Brighton have stuck with 4-4-1-1 pretty much all season – Pascal Gross taking a key role behind the striker.