When Brentford travelled to Merseyside last weekend, their three-game winning streak came to an abrupt stop as a Mohamed Salah goal in the 13th minute gave Liverpool their sixth straight Premier League victory.
Late in the first half, Bryan Mbeumo appeared to have given Virgil van Dijk the slip before scoring for the Bees, but an offside call rescued the Reds, and Brentford’s chances of qualifying for Europe once again faded.
The hosts’ victories against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest back-to-back had their rival European contenders looking over their shoulders, but Thomas Frank’s squad is currently eighth with three games remaining, five points behind Brighton & Hove Albion who have played two more games.
Brentford can essentially forget about any travels across Europe next season, unlike their impending opponents in the current campaign, as they work to improve a shaky home form that has seen the Bees win just two of their past six games at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford has scored and given up goals in each of their previous six Premier League games, but only Arsenal and Newcastle United have defeated Frank’s team at home this season. The Bees would do well to take advantage of West Ham’s tiredness after competing in Europe.
West Ham’s attack might play a pivotal part in this fixture
On Thursday night, Michail Antonio made a remarkable comeback just as David Moyes’s team was preparing to travel to the Netherlands with a one-goal advantage, almost running out of time as seen on the electronic scoreboard.
Tijjani Reijnders’ long-range goal gave AZ the lead for West Ham only a few seconds after a suspected foul on Lucas Paqueta went unpunished. However, Said Benrahma’s spot-on penalty and Antonio’s tap-in gave West Ham a slim lead in the English capital.
Going into the second leg next week, this buffer is hardly significant. As a result, attention has shifted to the relegation battle in the Premier League. The Hammers are in 15th place and still mathematically at risk, despite being seven points above the relegation zone with only three games remaining.
West Ham’s survival will be assured with two games remaining if Leicester City and Leeds United both lose this weekend, a scenario that is not out of the question given that they play Liverpool and Newcastle United, respectively. Last weekend’s spirited 1-0 victory over Manchester United moved David Moyes’s team one step closer to maintaining their top-flight status.
The Hammers have lost their past two away games against Crystal Palace and Manchester City, and they have also lost their last three Premier League matches against Brentford, despite Moyes’ team winning their matchup in the FA Cup third-round in January by a score of 1-0.
Team News- West Ham United
When Antonio scored the game-winning goal against AZ and was seen hobbling significantly at the end of the match, it raised fears about his condition. However, it is currently unknown how serious the striker’s injury is.
Although Gianluca Scamacca (knee) and Vladimir Coufal (thigh) will definitely miss the London derby, Moyes is convinced that Antonio “should” be fine and might decide not to take any risks with him before the second leg of their ECL matchup. Angelo Ogbonna is also striving to recover by the weekend after falling ill.
Given that their chances of surviving are almost certain, Moyes will undoubtedly consider making a few changes for the trip to Brentford, as all of Emerson Palmieri, Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals, and Danny Ings compete for a spot in the starting lineup.
Team News- Brentford
Brentford left defender There is no evidence to suggest that Rico Henry won’t be available on Sunday as Frank again plays around his four known absentees despite the fact that he looked to incur a hand injury in their loss to Liverpool last week.
After struggling to contain Liverpool with a five-man backline at Anfield, Frank should think about changing the formation with Keane Lewis-Potter (knee), Christian Norgaard (Achilles), Thomas Strakosha (calf), and departing captain Pontus Jansson (thigh) all in the medical room.
If they give up on Zanka and opt for a four-man defense instead, Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa will both contemplate returning to the attack, which could potentially disrupt the opposition’s strategy. However, it nearly succeeded.
Predictions-
Brentford 1-2 West Ham United
Date- 14th May, 2023
Time- 1pm GMT
Venue- Gtech Community Stadium
