Brentford and West Ham United will be eager to return to winning ways when they face off at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
The matches continue to come thick and fast across Europe, with the 2024/25 Premier League season continuing with Gameweek 5. Newcastle United and Manchester City will kick-start the latest round of fixtures at St. James’ Park before the action on Saturday continues with five simultaneous games, including Brentford vs West Ham United at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford began the 2024/25 season with a win over Crystal Palace. However, the Bees have been unable to embark on a winning run since then due to a daunting fixture list, facing Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur in three of their last four Premier League outings. The defeats to the bigwigs have left Thomas Frank’s charges 12th in the standings.
West Ham United are in a similar boat, although the East London club’s owners might have expected more from the first few weeks of the 2024/25 season. The Hammers are two places below Brentford after managing only one win in five Premier League outings thus far. So, the pressure is increasing on Julen Lopetegui, with the London outfit compiling a shortlist of options to replace him.
The corresponding fixture last season was an engrossing affair that saw Brentford come from a goal down to beat West Ham United 3-2, with Nathan Collins scoring the match-winning goal. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Brentford
Thomas Frank does not have any new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Brentford manager will be bereft of the services of seven first-team players vs West Ham United on Saturday.
Rico Henry is closing in on returning from a year-long layoff with a knee injury. However, Saturday’s game might have come too soon for the English full-back. Meanwhile, Aaron Hickey (thigh), Igor Thiago (knee), Mathias Jensen (calf), Joshua Dasilva (knee), Gustavo Nunes (back), and Yoane Wissa (ankle) remain on the sidelines.
Mark Flekken is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Brentford lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs West Ham United. The backline should feature Mads Roerslev, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock, and Kristoffer Ajer.
As for the midfield unit, Mikkel Damsgaard will start as a box-to-box midfielder, lining up alongside Christian Norgaard and Vitaly Janelt in the middle of the park. Kevin Schade will likely lead the line for Brentford against West Ham, with Keane Lewis-Potter and Bryan Mbeumo completing the numbers in the final third.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer; Damsgaard, Norgaard, Janelt; Mbuemo, Schade, Lewis-Potter
West Ham United
Unlike his counterpart in the Brentford dugout, Julen Lopetegui has a new roster issue to deal with ahead of the trip to the Gtech Community Stadium. The West Ham United manager will be without one first-team player on Saturday.
Edson Alvarez is the latest absentee after seeing a red against Liverpool in the EFL Cup third round earlier this week. However, there is some good news, as Niclas Fullkrug should be fit enough to feature in the matchday squad.
Alphonse Areola should take his spot between the sticks, with West Ham United lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Brentford on Saturday. The backline should feature Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, and Emerson Palmieri.
As for the midfield unit, Tomas Soucek should get a run, lining up alongside Guido Rodriguez in the double pivot. Lucas Paqueta will reprise the no. 10 role, with Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen being the two wide attackers. Finally, Michail Antonio should spearhead the West Ham attack against Brentford.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Rodriguez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
Key Stats
- Brentford have won four of their last five home league games vs West Ham United (D1), winning all three against them in the Premier League. The Bees have scored at least twice in all six Premier League meetings with West Ham, the joint-most one side has faced another while scoring multiple goals each time in the competition’s history (Arsenal also six vs Reading).
- Brentford have won both Premier League home games thus far this season. They last won three in a row in May 2023, while they most recently did so from the start of a campaign in 2018/19.
- West Ham United have lost three of their five Premier League games this term but remain unbeaten away from home thus far (W1 D1).
- West Ham United have conceded more goals in 2024 than any other current Premier League club (53), shipping three or more goals in eight different this calendar year. The Hammers have faced more “direct attacks” than any other side in the Premier League this term (16). However, Brentford have managed just three direct attacks thus far, a league-low.
- Jarrod Bowen has scored more league goals against Brentford than he has against any other side in his career (7), also netting a hat-trick against the Bees in a 4-2 Premier League win last season.
Player to Watch
Bryan Mbeumo
One of the most underrated players in the Premier League plays for Bryan Mbeumo. A player with an incredible record of 54 goals and 42 assists in 206 appearances thus far for Brentford should get more recognition. However, Mbeumo seldom features in the conversations of the best attackers in the Premier League.
Mbeumo has been involved in 13 goals in his last 14 London derby appearances in the Premier League (G10 A3). He has also scored four of Brentford’s seven league strikes thus far this season. So, it is no wonder many Premier League bigwigs are keen on signing the Cameroon international.
Prediction
Brentford 2-1 West Ham United
Heading into Gameweek 6, Brentford and West Ham United would feel they should be higher on the Premier League table. However, that will not happen unless they embark on winning runs, making Saturday’s London derby a virtual “six-pointer” for each team.
While West Ham United are unbeaten on the road, each game at the Gtech Community Stadium in the Premier League this season has ended in a win for Brentford. So, a closely contested affair is on the cards, with the game likely to stretch until the dying embers. However, Bryan Mbeumo should inspire the home side to a narrow 2-1 win, with Julen Lopetegui coming under increasing pressure with another winless result.