West Ham United will be looking to get back to winning ways when they take on Brentford in a mouth-watering London derby at London Stadium on Saturday.
The Hammers head into the eagerly anticipated clash on a concerning three-match winless run (D1, L2), most recently falling to a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea.
Graham Potter’s side took the lead against the run of play with Jarrod Bowen pouncing on a defensive mishap, but they couldn’t keep the Blues at bay.
Pedro Neto drew Chelsea level before an own goal from Aaron Wan-Bissaka completed the comeback, condemning West Ham to an 11th defeat in 24 Premier League games.
West Ham haven’t enjoyed a new manager bounce since Potter’s arrival, but there have been hints of improvement in their performance.
Hosting Brentford could be the ideal platform for the Hammers to reignite their revival, and they’ve been handed a massive boost to bolster their chances of coming away with maximum points.
Predicted West Ham line-up
Potter’s side have had plenty of time to get over the defeat against Chelsea and refocus for the game against Brentford.
They exited the FA Cup in the third round on Potter’s debut last month, so they’ve had almost two weeks to rest, and that has allowed them time to recover some players.
Lucas Paqueta, Jean-Clair Todibo, and Edson Alvarez have all returned to the fold after missing the defeat at Chelsea earlier this month.
Evan Ferguson is also in line to make his debut, while James Ward-Prowse will be pushing to reintroduce himself to the Hammers faithful after cutting short his Nottingham Forest loan.
Things are looking up for Potter, but he will be without Crysencio Summerville until after the international break in March after suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring problem.
For the first time since his arrival, Potter has plenty of options to choose from, especially in the forward areas. He will be hoping the returnees can make a huge difference against Brentford on Saturday.
How West Ham could line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Alphonse Areola; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Emerson Palmieri; Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez; Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus; Evan Ferguson.
