MY ACCOUNT
– West Ham have lost their last four league games and are now serious relegation candidates
– Brentford arrive on the back of an impressive draw against Tottenham and will not fear this trip
– Recommended bet: Brentford draw no bet
A trip to league leaders Arsenal was always going to be a tricky test for West Ham on their return to action, but the manner of their 3-1 defeat will have disappointed manager David Moyes.
His team were gifted an early lead against the run of play in north London but they then defended woefully to allow the Gunners to take complete control and run out comfortable winners.
Worryingly for Moyes, a fourth-successive league defeat puts the Hammers just two points above bottom side Southampton. And while the West Ham manager may not have expected any points against Arsenal, he would have wanted a more convincing performance to boost confidence ahead of an upcoming run of must-win meetings with fellow strugglers.
First up, however, is a tough match against a Brentford side who impressed against Tottenham last time out and have landed statement victories over Manchester City and Manchester United already this season.
Team news
West Ham will be without Kurt Zouma until February with a knee injury, while fellow centre-back Nayef Aguerd is highly unlikely to feature after picking up a groin issue while on World Cup duty with Morocco.
Attacker Maxwel Cornet is a major doubt due to a calf complaint and striker Gianluca Scamacca again looks set to miss out with an ankle problem.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank may have two midfielders unavailable, as Frank Onyeka is a major doubt with a hamstring strain, while Shandon Baptiste has already been ruled out with a groin issue. Left-back Aaron Hickey will also miss Friday’s contest due to an ankle injury.
Reserve goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha is another set to miss out with an ankle complaint and centre-back Kristoffer Ajer is a week or so from returning from a knee injury.
The stats
West Ham have lost their last four Premier League matches — including home defeats to bottom-half pair Crystal Palace and Leicester — and have taken just four points from their last seven league outings.
Visitors Brentford have lost only one of their eight games against teams in the bottom half, albeit they have also won only one of those matches, drawing six times.
The Bees have also lost only four of 16 Premier League matches overall, beating Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in their last road trip and thrashing Manchester United 4-0 early in the season.
Only the top three have lost fewer games than Thomas Frank’s men this season and they also did the double over the Hammers last term.
Prediction
This match looks priced up more on reputation than quality or current form, with struggling West Ham as short as 21/20 against opponents that have lost just four of 16 league games this term.
The goals conceded against Arsenal last time out will have been of particular concern for Moyes as they came as a result of poor errors made by two of his more experienced players in right-back Vladimir Coufal and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
With both of Moyes’ first-choice central defenders out injured and other members of the backline out of form, more mistakes look likely from the hosts.
As a result, backing over 1.5 Brentford goals looks a decent addition to a Bet Builder selection, a view that is only strengthened by the form of Frank’s forward line.
Brentford have scored twice in each of their last three outings, including in a 2-2 draw against Tottenham and a 2-1 win away at Manchester City, while striker Ivan Toney is in red-hot form with seven goals across his last eight matches.
It is hard to see an out-of-form West Ham side picking up all three points, but the Bees’ tendency towards stalemates in matches they should have won makes them a slight danger in the outright market.
Backing Brentford in the draw no bet market eliminates any chance of missing out due to another draw and is a solid option at 31/20 with LiveScore Bet.
