Initial Observations
West Ham United will play London opponents Brentford at the Community Stadium of Gtech on Sunday after securing a first-leg lead toward their Europa Conference League semi-final against AZ Alkmaar. The Bees’ most recent match ended with a 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield, while the Hammers’ most recent match saw them edge Dutch powerhouses AZ by a score of 2-1 at the London Stadium. When Brentford traveled to Liverpool 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 peering over their shoulders as well, but Thomas Frank’s squad is currently eighth with three games remaining, five points behind Brighton & Hove Albion who have played two more games. Also Read: Barcelona beats 10-man Osasuna with the help of Jordi Alba’s goal.
As they work to improve a shaky home stretch of play during which they have won, Brentford can basically forget about any travels across Europe next season, unlike their forthcoming opponents during the current season. Brentford has scored and given up goals in each of their previous six Premier League games, but only Arsenal and Newcastle’s rivals 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 Team News
Before West Ham talisman made a remarkable comeback on Thursday night, Michail Antonio’s time was very nearly up—literally on the electronic scoreboard—as David Moyes’s team prepared to travel to the Netherlands with a one-goal advantage the next week. After a suspected foul on Lucas Paqueta went unrepentant, Tijjani Reijnders’ long-range goal gave AZ the lead for West Ham. However, Said Benrahma’s spot-on penalty and Antonio’s tap-in gave West Ham a slim lead in the English capital.
In the Premier League, the relegation war is now in focus as the 15th-placed Hammers continue to not be mathematically safe despite being seven points ahead of the relegation zone going into next week’s second leg. 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.
Brentford Team News
Brentford left defender There is no evidence to suggest that Rico Henry won’t be available on Sunday as Frank again plays around the 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.
Such a strategy almost succeeded, but if Zanka is given up in favor of switching to a four-man rearguard, Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa will both consider returning to the assault. Concerns were raised when Antonio was spotted after scoring the game-winning goal against AZ.
Brentford’s possible starting lineup:
Raya; Hickey, Mee, Pinnock, Henry; Dasilva, Janelt, Jensen; Schade, Toney, Mbeumo
West Ham United’s possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Johnson, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Ings
Thank you for reading it. Leave us a comment if you liked it.
Do follow us on: Google News | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | LinkedIn
Have a good day ahead 🙂
