While no one expected West Ham United to beat Arsenal in the Boxing Day return to action, the lopsided loss to the Gunners does increase the temperature on the seat of manager David Moyes.
A London derby loss to Brentford would really see an increase in the calls to sack the Scotsman, so he needs to starting stringing together some Ws. Otherwise the east London club could sack him for the second time.
West Ham United vs Brentford FYIs
Kickoff: Fri Dec 30, 7:45pm GMT, London Stadium, UK
West Ham Starting XI Prediction: go here
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Form West Ham LLLLW Brentford DWDDL
PL Standings West Ham 16th, 14pts Brentford 10th, 20 pts
West Ham United Team News
Summer signing Gianluca Scamacca (ankle) got injured during the London derby club friendly against Fulham, and still hasn’t returned.
He was considered to be in contention for the Arsenal game, so it is fairly likely that he features here.
Central defender Kurt Zouma (knee) also got hurt in that friendly which was staged over the World Cup break.
He is more likely to feature in the next match, against Leeds United, than he is in this one.
Nayef Aguerd (knock) hasn’t featured in any match of any kind since Morocco’s quarter-final victory at the World Cup.
Maxwel Cornet (calf) remains sidelined, as he’s been missing for close to three months.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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