West Ham United won the first of their two-legged UECL tie with AZ Alkmaar tonight, meaning they’ll head to the weekend feeling pretty confident.
They’ll need that confidence, as the next match is a visit to Brentford, and that will prove to be a tricky, challenging fixture for them. Let’s preview this one.
West Ham United vs Brentford FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. May 14, 2pm GMT, GTech Community Stadium, London, UK
West Ham United Starting XI Prediction: go here
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: West Ham 27% Draw 27% Brentford FC 46%
PL Form West Ham WLLLW Brentford FC LWWDL
PL Standings West Ham 15th, 37 pts Brentford FC 9th, 50 pts
Team News for Both Sides
The Hammers basically have a clean bill of health here, or at least no new fitness concerns. The Irons trio of injury absentees remains the same: Gianluca Scamacca (knee), Kurt Zouma (ankle) and Vladimir Coufal (hamstring).
Switching over to the Bees, Thomas Strakosha (calf) is a doubt for this one. Meanwhile the following triad of players are not going to feature again this season: Pontus Jansson (hamstring), Christian Norgaard (Achilles) and Keane Lewis-Potter (knee).
So we’ll see if the Bees can sting their opposition in this London derby, and with that, move closer towards securing a finish on the first page of the standings.
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.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.