West Ham v Brentford: Back the Bees to progress and get a free bet with a 5/1 Bet Builder | OneFootball

Opportunity awaits

It's East versus West in the final FA Cup Fifth Round tie on Monday night as West Ham host Brentford in a London derby with both teams looking to reach their first quarter-final for at least 10 years.

The Hammers last reached the quarter-finals in the 2015-16 season, for the Bees the wait has been much longer, 1989 was the last time they reached the last eight of the FA Cup and that is in fact the furthest they've ever been in the competition.

With the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle still in the hat for the fifth round draw, both Nuno Espirto Santo and Keith Andrews will have been pleased to have avoided one of the big boys, and they should view this tie as a great opportunity to progress further in this season's FA Cup.

For Brentford I think that will definitely be the case. They're enjoying a fabulous season, currently occupying seventh in the Premier League table with a great chance of qualifying for European competition next term. After this tie they don't play again for seven days, and with that game being at home to rock-bottom Wolves there's no reason why Andrews shouldn't field a full strength XI at the London Stadium.

Santo is likely to filed his strongest XI also, though with West Ham deep in relegation trouble and hosting Manchester City in the Premier League five days later, there's a small chance that he might make a few changes, or at least mix things up a little during the game.

Bees very worthy favourites

Given that Brentford are likely to be at full strength on Monday night, with the small chance that West Ham might not be, I'm not surprised to see the Bees favourites at 5/4 in the Match Odds market (below, you can track the real time Match Odds on the Betfair Exchange).

English FA Cup: West Ham v Brentford (Match Odds)

Monday 9 March, 7.30pm

Andrews' men - who at the time had lost three consecutive Premier League away games - won 2-0 at the London Stadium in October thanks to what will go down as one of the worst West Ham performances in recent years. Of course, the Hammers have improved since that night but you could argue emphatically that Brentford have improved even greater.

The Bees have lost just once on the road in the Premier League since early December, that coming away to Chelsea, and in recent months they've recorded impressive victories at Everton, Aston Villa and Newcastle. Their current form in all competitions (15 games) is W9-D3-L3. You don't need me to tell you that they're a good team in very good form.

West Ham can be backed at 15/8 for the win - the draw is 11/4 - and although their league form appears to be improving, that fact is that they have won just four of their last 20 games inside regulation time in all competitions (they needed extra time to beat both QPR and Burton in this season's FA Cup).

Interestingly, Brentford have won seven of their 10 games against West Ham United in all competitions since becoming a Premier League side in 2021, and that's their best record against any other top flight team. I fancied the Bees for the away win anyway, but that stat just adds a tiny bit more confidence.

Profit on Brentford shots

When these two sides met in this exact same fixture in October - in the Premier League - Brentford put in a great performance, winning the game 2-0. They registered 22 shots in that game with around 16 of them coming by the hour mark, and I fancy in a game that both sides will want to win without going to extra-time, we could be in for an entertaining affair.

I'm not convinced the Bees will rack up 22 shots in this clash - though there's no reason why they won't, it's 17/2 if you think they can - but they registered 16 shots at goal away to Burnley at the end of February, and at 13/8 to back I'm happy to take a chance on them registering 16 shots against West Ham.

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Crysencio Summerville has been involved in all three of West Ham's FA Cup goals this season (two goals, one assist) and he has six goal involvements in his last five FA Cup appearances overall (three goals, three assists), so he is the obvious candidate for West Ham to be involved in a goal should the Hammers find the back of the net.

For Brentford, Igor Thiago has been their standout player this season, scoring 18 Premier League goals. He was a constant menace when these two sides met in October, registering six shots in the match and getting on the scoresheet. We'll back him to score anytime on Monday night.

Finally, in what we're hoping will be an entertaining affair, we'll back Over 2.5 Goals. Of course, if the two player selections come in that will be two goals in the game at least, so we will require just one more for the bet to land.