Graham Potter is “really excited” by the prospect of seeing a refreshed West Ham side in action against Brentford on Saturday.
This has been a miserable campaign for West Ham, with Julen Lopetegui quickly replaced as boss as the team languished in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Although Potter’s appointment in his place has given the Hammers a lift, they have continued to be hampered by injury issues.
A 13-day gap between matches has provided West Ham with an opportunity to reset, however, having last played away to Chelsea prior to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Potter is certainly feeling optimistic, saying ahead of the home match against Brentford: “We’ve tried to use the time we’ve had [since Chelsea] as well as possible.
“The players have trained well, and we’ve used the opportunity to get the injured players back as well. So, it’s been a combination of a few things, as well as the recovery of the players who have been playing.
“We’ll go into the last 14 games of the season with a bit of freshness now. That’s something we’re really excited about.
“We’re going to try and pick up as many points as we can, starting at home against Brentford on Saturday.”
We host the Bees at London Stadium on Saturday pic.twitter.com/lZEcAsSiLe
— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 13, 2025
Injuries have left West Ham particularly short in attack, meaning the loan signing of Evan Ferguson, who Potter worked with at Brighton and Hove Albion, comes as a boost.
“He’s trained well since he’s come in, and he’s certainly showed his quality,” Potter said of the striker.
“The situation with Evan is that he hasn’t played that much football recently, so we have to be a bit careful with how many minutes he plays and whether he starts.
“But he’s been great, and I think he’s only going to get stronger and better during the time he’s here with us.
“He’s ready to help the team, and we’ll make the decision about his involvement as we get closer to the game.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
With Ferguson still getting up to speed, Bowen is likely to lead the line from the start again, having returned from injury against Chelsea.
Bowen is West Ham’s second-highest goalscorer in the Premier League and just one goal shy of 50. He has scored five times against Brentford in the competition, only netting more against Wolves (six).
Brentford – Mikkel Damsgaard
Damsgaard has been named Brentford’s player of the month for each of the past four months, so it should come as no surprise that the numbers show he will provide a big threat to West Ham.
The Denmark international is the only Premier League player to tally five or more assists (eight), 40 or more chances created (41), 150 or more pass attempts into the final third (152), 50 or more tackles (55) and 100 or more duels won (117) this season.
Four-in-a-row for Mikkel pic.twitter.com/2sUTL3x3sf
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) February 6, 2025
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
West Ham and Brentford are each averaging exactly 1.0 points per game in London derbies since the start of last season, so a draw would maintain those respective records.
Brentford will head to West Ham in confident mood having won their past two away games after winning none of their first nine this season, but the Bees have never won three in a row on the road in the top flight.
West Ham are also unbeaten in their previous two Premier League meetings with Brentford, having lost each of the first five.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
West Ham – 40.5%
Brentford – 34.4%
Draw – 25.1%
