After West Ham's narrow defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out, Tomáš Souček hopes that luck will shine on the Hammers when they face Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Despite his best efforts, the Czech Republic international could not score his first goal of the season at the City Ground where only a dramatic goal line clearance denied him a late equaliser.
His teammates Pablo Fornals and Saïd Benrahma also both struck the woodwork, while Dean Henderson saved a Declan Rice penalty to leave the Irons feeling decidedly frustrated.
But now, with Brighton visiting London Stadium, West Ham will look for their first three points of the season, and Souček believes the Hammers deserve their share of good fortune.
“We created many chances [against Forest], maybe the most since I came to [West Ham], and we didn’t score,” he lamented. “This was hard luck for us. But I hope [we will get luck] and score in other games.
“If we played another 90 minutes we still wouldn’t have scored. There was the penalty, I could have scored three goals. Then, we conceded from one chance – it was an unlucky game for us.”
In the second half, the Czech Republic skipper saw his effort hit the arm of Scott McKenna, only for Rice to be denied from the spot, but Souček backed his captain and regular midfield partner to bounce back, and lead his team to victory this weekend.
“He’s a big star in England,” Souček said. “I like to play next to him. He’s a proper player and shows the quality on the pitch.”
Brighton have proved difficult opposition for West Ham since their promotion to the Premier League in 2017, but Souček himself has scored on the last two occasions the Seagulls have visited east London.
With a capacity 62,500 crowd roaring them on this Sunday, the No28 is hoping not just to find the net again, but to do so in the Irons’ first-ever Premier League victory over the Sussex side.
“[Our home form] is very important,” he said. “We lost two games, but we need to be ready to win our next game. That is important.
“We had very good results [at the London Stadium] last season. I just hope that we will carry on in this style.”