Brentford v West Ham: Opposition insight from Standard Sport’s Sam Tabuteau | OneFootball

As Brentford prepare for their penultimate home game of the Premier League season, we spoke with Sam Tabuteau of Standard Sport to get the inside track on opponents West Ham United.

Tabuteau breaks down the tactical approach instilled by Hammers head coach Nuno Espírito Santo, highlights the key players Keith Andrews’ men should be wary of, and assesses how the visitors might approach Saturday’s contest at Gtech Community Stadium.

West Ham are 17th in the Premier League, two points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur who currently occupy the final place in the relegation zone. How the last few months have panned out for them?

It has been really promising. Given where West Ham were before, I think they can be relatively pleased

Maybe it is a sign of the improvement they have shown under Nuno Espírito Santo that the draw against Crystal Palace recently was a disappointing result and, ultimately, a missed chance for them.

Tottenham are still within touching distance and, within that relegation race, it is looking as though it is going to boil down to those two teams.

What is the mood like around the club?

I think the mood is positive. There is still going to be a lot of anxiety, but relegation has been on the mind of West Ham supporters, those at the club and the players for the whole season.

It is not as though it has crept on them or taken them by surprise, so they have been able to take it in their stride and now it is about putting points on the board.

The home form has really picked up in 2026 and the Hammers are currently six unbeaten at London Stadium. Do you think that could play into their hands in the battle to stay up?

It absolutely could - but, if this was six months ago, I would have said the complete opposite! There was a mutinous atmosphere at London Stadium.

Granted, fan protests are still going on, but those protests and that animosity towards the board was certainly seeping into the stadium and having an impact on the atmosphere.

Now, though, their home form has really picked up and, when I saw them against Wolves last month, there was a really unified atmosphere and that spurred them on. They did not start well, but got the first goal and the atmosphere changed, then they scored another three and won 4-0.

That is a sign of the development they have shown under Nuno and his ability to bring everyone together. While there are a lot of bigger issues at play, he has been quite good at being able to focus on the here and now to ensure they give themselves a fighting chance of staying up.

Which player should Brentford keep an eye out for on Saturday?

The obvious ones are Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville. El Hadji Malick Diouf is another good player, but I do quite like the strike combination of Taty Castellanos and Pablo.

They are an interesting duo because they do not score a ton of goals, but you can tell they are working incredibly hard for the team and you can see the impact they have had.

They have helped what was a really lifeless attack build more cohesion and give it a focal point, which Bowen and Summerville have been able to play off.

They came in in January and their additions have been really important for West Ham’s resurgence.

What should Keith Andrews’ side expect in terms of shape and style?

It is a very counter-attacking style, in the mould of Nuno’s previous teams. It will be four at the back, but it can also shift to a five.

They look to get the ball out to the wingers and just attack space. Something brought a lot of success against Wolves, for example, was the timing of their press and picking off teams in possession.

Bowen and Summerville are really key to that and they time their pressures really well to win the ball high up and create quick turnovers.

What’s your score prediction?

Brentford have struggled to take the onus of a really strong league position, so I am going to go with a 1-0 West Ham win here.

They do not tend to win pretty, but they have got so much riding on this.