On Sunday, West Ham United will face Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in a highly anticipated Premier League clash. This comes after West Ham managed to secure a first-leg advantage in their Europa Conference League semi-final against AZ Alkmaar, while Brentford lost their most recent game 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield.
Brentford’s three-game unbeaten run came to an end when they faced Liverpool last weekend, with a Mohamed Salah goal proving decisive in a 1-0 loss. While the London side had been looking to restore parity late in the first half, an offside decision denied them the chance. Brentford currently sits in the ninth position, five points below Brighton & Hove Albion and with only three games left to go in the season.
Meanwhile, West Ham is not yet safe from relegation and need to accumulate more points. They currently sit in 15th place, seven clear of the drop zone with three games remaining. They managed to win their last game 1-0 against Manchester United, and the Hammers will be looking to replicate that form this time around.
Both teams are dealing with injury concerns. Brentford left-back Rico Henry appeared to sustain a hand injury in their defeat to Liverpool last week, but is expected to play. However, Brentford will be without Keane Lewis-Potter, Christian Norgaard, Thomas Strakosha, and Pontus Jansson due to injuries. West Ham, on the other hand, has Gianluca Scamacca and Vladimir Coufal out with injury, while Angelo Ogbonna is fighting to recover from illness. Michail Antonio is also a potential concern for the Hammers after limping heavily at the end of their Europa Conference League game against AZ.
Considering West Ham’s recent fatigue from their midweek game and Brentford’s strong home form, the Bees might edge out a victory in this game. Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in the match. Nevertheless, anything can happen in football, and fans can expect an exciting matchup between these two London rivals.
