
The Football Faithful
·20 October 2025
West Ham United vs Brentford – Match Preview and Team News

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Yahoo sportsThe Football Faithful
·20 October 2025
West Ham United play their first home match under new manager Nuno Espírito Santo on Monday night.
They desperately seek a victory against Brentford to climb off the foot of the table. Although the Hammers earned a point at Everton in Nuno’s debut, they now face a Brentford side with a strong record against them. Indeed, despite poor away form this season, the Bees have won six of the eight Premier League meetings between the clubs.
Nuno Espírito Santo receives a boost with midfielder Tomáš Souček returning from a three-match suspension. However, the manager has suffered a significant blow elsewhere. Striker Niclas Füllkrug is ruled out with a thigh injury. Therefore, Callum Wilson will lead the attack in his absence. George Earthy also remains unavailable.
Keith Andrews has received positive news regarding player fitness. Defender Aaron Hickey is available after recovering from a knock. Furthermore, both Reiss Nelson and Gustavo Nunes are fit again after playing for the U21s midweek. The only major absentee is young midfielder Antoni Milambo, who sadly sustained a season-ending ACL injury on international duty.
The Hammers sit 19th after a dreadful start to the season, winning just one of their opening seven games. Their home form is particularly alarming. In fact, they have lost all three league matches at the London Stadium this season. Consequently, they could lose their opening four home league games for the first time in their history. Moreover, West Ham have lost all four London derbies this campaign.
The Bees have had a mixed start and currently sit 16th. However, they were competitive in a narrow defeat to Manchester City last time out. Their main strength has clearly been at home, as they have lost all three of their away league games this season. Worryingly, they took the lead in the last two of those defeats before collapsing. Despite this poor away form, they boast an excellent record against West Ham, winning six of the eight Premier League encounters.
West Ham United predicted XI: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf; Fernandes, Magassa; Bowen, Paquetá, Summerville; Wilson
Brentford predicted XI: Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Hickey; Henderson, Yarmolyuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago
Fans in the UK can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. Coverage begins at 7:30 pm BST.