West Ham United head into the weekend on the back of some impressive form — having won four of their last five fixtures in all competitions. This week, they face favorable competition in the Bees of Brentford. The Bees have not beaten West Ham since the 1952/53 season.
Interestingly, this will be the London rivals’ first fixture against each other in the top flight of English football. After fielding a slightly rotated team in European competition on Thursday, West Ham will look to return to their first-choice XI, and try to keep their impressive start to the 21/22 Premier League season going.
West Ham vs Brentford FYIs:
Kick-off time: 2 PM GMT, 3 October Sunday
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Form Guide (All Competitions): West Ham (WLWWW) Brentford (DLWWD)
While Alphonse Areola is favored by many, it seems that Lukasz Fabianski is David Moyes’ first choice. Given that, I expect the Polish shot-stopper to line up between the posts in the Premier League this weekend.
In the center of defense, I expect the duo of Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna to return. The pairing of Craig Dawson and Issa Diop are painfully unlucky here, given they have kept two clean sheets in their last two starts.
The pressure will be on the first-choice duo to be at their best with two more-than-capable deputies waiting in the wings.
At full-back, Aaron Cresswell will pull double duty after playing in the Europa League. On the opposite side, Vladimir Coufal is expected to return from the minor groin injury that kept him out of continental competition.
Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice will continue in the defensive midfielder slots. The Czech will be fresh after being rested mid-week and the young Englishman will be buoyed after scoring against Rapid Wien.
The attacking midfield triumvirate of Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen, and Said Benrahama should be reunited. Fornals and Bowen will be raring to go after being rested in their last fixture.
I would be surprised if Benrahma plays the full 90 minutes after not being afforded a rest against Rapid Wien, but I do expect him to start.
Upfront, the goal machine that is Michail Antonio will start looking to keep his impressive goal-scoring form going.
Predicted West Ham Starting XI vs Brentford (4-2-3-1):
Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell, Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice, Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Michail Antonio.