Sutton's predictions: Brentford v Wolves published at 11:15 5 October
11:15 5 October
Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.
For week seven, he takes on Will Champion and Jonny Buckland from Coldplay, whose latest album, Moon Music, came out on Friday.
Sutton's prediction: 2-1
Wolves are still bottom, with only one point so far, but they have actually been playing OK - including in last week's defeat against Liverpool.
Eventually it will click for Gary O’Neil's side, and maybe it will happen here, but I also think Brentford have been better than their recent results have suggested.
The Bees have scored in the first minute of their past three league games, so Wolves need to be prepared for a fast start.
Brentford did not go on to win any of those matches, but I have a feeling they will get over the line here, especially because they are at home.
Frank on Norgaard's fitness, defensive struggles and 'one in a million' recordpublished at 17:51 4 October
17:51 4 October
Josh Lobley BBC Sport Researcher
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Wolves (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
On team news: "Christian Norgaard is available, which is a positive. Rico Henry trained with the team today, which is a positive. It’s good to see him there. Manchester United [the first game back after the international break] will be too soon for him. It will likely be a few weeks after that. I will know more after the international break."
On other players in the squad: "[Mathias] Jensen is in a better place. He's been running on the pitch this week, so that's another positive. Paris [Maghoma] has done well and looks fit. He will have another game involvement on Monday and, when everyone is back, he will be fully firing and competing. [Gustavo] Nunes is a longer-term one. [Yoane] Wissa is progressing well. He was running on the grass, so that's good too."
On scoring in the first minute in three consecutive matches: "It's fantastic that we've been able to do it three games in a row. We have checked [if it's a record]. We spoke to our guys, they analysed one million games and no-one has done it three games in a row. It must be a world record. The next time we do it, we need to keep the lead and get three points."
On his opponents: "They have performed very well and haven't got the results that they deserved. They have done very well overall in their games. They have a good squad and Gary O'Neil is doing a good job with his staff. I expect a completely even game."
On how injuries can affect the style of play: "I try to stick to what I believe in, in terms of style of play. Injures to key personnel makes us tweak it a bit, but we try to do what we want to do. We always look at the opposition. The way they attack and defend can make our plan change slightly."
On the poor defensive record so far this season: "We are starting to look better and better. Mark Flekken has looked good this season. Ethan [Pinnock] had a slow start to the season but looked back to his level in our last game. Nathan Collins has really been growing - I think he's been our best centre-back this season. I hope we can get the clean sheets soon."
On Bryan Mbeumo's impressive start to the season: "Bryan is a top player. He's got everything to take the next step. His hold-up play, his weight of pass, his work ethic - if he can keep these things consistent he will keep producing."
Brentford 'thought about first 10 minutes' - but 'need end results'published at 09:56 3 October
09:56 3 October
I can believe that Thomas Frank has Brentford working on scoring goals early in training because of how he is as a coach.
When I was a player, we would always say about switching on quickly when talking in the pre-match huddle because the first 10 minutes are usually your most vulnerable moments.
Brentford have thought about that and have been on the front foot to get their early goals. As players, you want to score early on because it then means you can start putting your stamp on the game.
It is certainly something you can work on in training and given Frank's coaching style it does not surprise me that it is an area he has identified as a way of getting an advantage early on in games.
But now that they have established that, they have to start being consistent in their style of play to create more chances throughout the match.
They are still allowing teams to get back into games and therefore not getting the end result.
Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford
Fast starts... thin benchpublished at 12:39 1 October
12:39 1 October
Ian Westbrook Fan writer
Don't say I didn't warn you!
In this column last week, I told Brentford supporters not to turn up late for a game after our two sub-25 second goals at Manchester City and Tottenham.
None of us thought it could happen once, let alone twice – so when we kicked off against West Ham on Saturday, shouts of 'shoot' from the crowd made us all laugh.
However, once again, Brentford got off to the fastest start imaginable, leaving those of us in the stands incredulous.
It is just a shame that for the third week in a row, our fast start didn't lead to a victory, although winning either of the previous two games was always going to be tough.
For the second season running, the Bees have a massive injury list which is currently leaving us with no experience on the bench. This was summed up by some of the second half substitutions made by Thomas Frank.
West Ham brought on Danny Ings and Crysencio Summerville, two players with more than 500 senior appearances between them. Brentford introduced Yehor Yarmoliuk and Yunus Konak, who have played fewer than 75 senior games in total.
I have nothing against Yarmoliuk, who had a really impressive 35 minutes, or Konak of course. They are both hugely talented players with great potential, but they are still learning top-flight football and sometimes bringing on an experienced older player late in the game can force a win.
The Bees are still unbeaten at home though and the draw was a decent result.
Our next two games are against two out-of-form sides in Wolves and Manchester United, and matches like that can go one of two ways.
Brentford 1-1 West Ham - the fans' verdictpublished at 08:23 30 September
08:23 30 September
We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brenford and West Ham.
Here are some of your comments:
Brentford fans
Ian: All I say is don't miss kick off. A game of two halves today. A fast start from Brentford and then the second Brentford goal didn't materialise. Damsgaard is finding his form in a Brentford shirt and will be an asset during our injury issues.
Mark: Three first-minute goals now, leading to two losses and a draw. Simply not good enough.
Ben: 100% missing a striker that can find the net. 19 shots today and only three on target. New players and manager need time to gel but things need to pick up quickly.
Guvnah: Can't hold on to a lead. Three games in a row with goals in the first minute. I'm looking forward to getting a full squad back. But I'll take a point in a scrappy game.
West Ham fans
Sid: It’s confusing for sure. The increased possession is positive, the confusion over who should be doing what less so. I thought Kudus was one of our best players first half and the only attacking threat. So it was a strange substitution. We don’t look fit enough after 60 minutes. Antonio was done and others too. At least Todibo made a good start.
Frank: I have no idea what this manager does in training but we might as well have started a fire and burned £130m. He looks clueless. Aaron Wan-Bissaka thinks he is a midfielder and does not know how to defend and the whole lot look a shambles. European football next year…no chance.
Jonny: Not sure what our manager is doing to be honest. The substitutions are bizarre and we don't have any shape. I think he is trying to be too clever, Mavropanos at right-back? With Coufal on the bench? Soler on for Kudus? But, saying all that a point away from home in the Premier League is good. Just wish we had a settled side. Hopefully this will come in the weeks ahead.
Ken: A terrible start but better performance particularly in the second half. We worked hard with little return. Much better than it has been recently, but we should be beating teams like Brentford after all the money that's been spent.
Catch up on the Premier League actionpublished at 11:06 29 September
11:06 29 September
Highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures.
Brentford 1-1 West Ham: Did you know?published at 18:09 28 September
18:09 28 September
Bryan Mbeumo’s strike after 38 seconds saw Brentford become the first team in Premier League history to score in the opening minute in three consecutive games.
Analysis: Another quick start for Brentfordpublished at 17:58 28 September
17:58 28 September
Bobbie Jackson BBC Sport Journalist
For the third Premier League game in succession, Brentford scored inside the opening 40 seconds when Bryan Mbeumo volleyed home.
That was as good as it got for Thomas Frank's side, though, with 36 minutes passing by before they attempted another shot on or off target.
Injuries are already starting to pile up for Brentford, with nine players currently unavailable, and the absence of Yoane Wissa could prove very costly over the next two months.
Mbeumo (5) and Wissa (3) are the only two players to have registered for Brentford in the league this campaign.
After taking the lead so early, Brentford seemed content to sit back and eventually they were breached when Tomas Soucek bundled in from close range.
West Ham looked the most likely to go on and win on what turned out to be a frustrating afternoon for the Bees.
There are no sounds of discontent from the fans in the direction of Frank just yet, despite winning just one of their last four games, but the Dane will be keen to get three points back on the board sooner rather than later.
'Must be a world record'published at 17:51 28 September
17:51 28 September
Brentford manager Thomas Frank, speaking to BBC Match of the Day, about his side scoring inside the opening minute for a third successive league game: "I can't tell you [the secret]. It must be a world record, three games in a row under 40 seconds - it's unbelievable.
"We had a plan again, it's a mindset of playing forward and trying to get on the game straight away. I'm very pleased with that."
On Bryan Mbeumo's great start to the season: "Bryan is on fire, no doubt about that. He has been carrying the team in many ways, scoring goals and creating opportunities.
"I think he has five goals now and he is improving so much."
On the performance: "It's a good point. I'm always disappointed if we don't get three. We were the better team for 75 minutes.
"West Ham out-powered us for 15 minutes at the start of the second half. If you take into consideration that we have nine first team players out, we had nothing to shoot with.
"Going forward I am positive. If you can play like this against a good West Ham side then I am confident it will work out.
"What I like from my team was the mentality. We kept going forward."
Sutton's predictions: Brentford v West Hampublished at 11:14 28 September
11:14 28 September
Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.
For week six, he takes on Maximo Park singer Paul Smith, whose latest album, Stream Of Life, is out on Friday.
Brentford host West Ham at 15:00 BST on Saturday.
Sutton's prediction: 2-1
Julen Lopetegui needs a result and he needs a performance, the West Ham way... whatever that is under him.
Their fans wanted a change, and they got the change... and I think they have expected a much better start than the one they have got.
On top of the result, what was worrying about last week's home defeat by Chelsea was how vulnerable the Hammers looked defensively. If they were solid at the back it would give them something to build on until they click up front, but there was not much to build on there.
West Ham were miles off in that game, and ended up well beaten by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night too. The Reds were very fortunate with how they scored their first goal, but it feels like everything is going against Lopetegui at the moment.
Brentford are always superbly organised and carry a goal threat. They went ahead against Manchester City and Tottenham in their past two league games and although they ended up losing both, they ran Spurs very close and gave City plenty to think about too.
Even without the injured Yoane Wissa, the Bees are a well-balanced team - and probably not the kind of opposition that West Ham need or want right now.
Smith's prediction: 3-1
For the last few games I have been expecting it to click for West Ham, and that Niclas Fullkrug would score some goals, but it hasn't happened. They have got some good players but they just seem to be in such a rut that I can't see them winning this one either.
Brentford have lost their last two league games but both times they created so many chances and have gone for it. I am expecting them to go for it again here and, if West Ham aren't at it, Brentford could win comfortably.
Frank on injuries, scoring from kick off and 'fortress' Gtechpublished at 15:59 27 September
15:59 27 September
Emily Reilly-O'Donnell BBC Sport Researcher
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against West Ham United (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
"It's going to be a close call" if midfielder Christian Norgaard will return from injury tomorrow but Frank confirmed he has been in training today.
Rico Henry and Joshua Dasilva remain sidelined: "Josh is further down the line [than Rico]. Rico is progressing but it's still not like he will play next week." Adding: "Igor Thiago is progressing but still too far away before I can start getting excited about him coming back".
On the number of injuries Brentford have: "We've been very unlucky, but that happens, it's part of football. You can be more hit by injuries than others. We need to work on how can we get them back to playing. How can we accelerate that process, which we are working on".
Speaking about scoring very early in the last two matches: "We work on it. No doubt about it. We have a clear plan for it. Obviously we know it's difficult to score every single time from a kick-off. He added: "We have players around where the ball drops and then we play from there and then maybe teams are not ready. We were definitely ready, I think that's the most important thing."
But on going on to lose after taking the lead in both of those games, Frank said: "Our aim is always to try and score one more goal. You get two [goals] up - that's the aim and the philosophy- that can be a little bit difficult sometimes against any team in the Premier League but especially, for example, the two sides we faced, in [Manchester] City and Tottenham."
On how pleased he's been with Brentford's home performances, given their tough away fixtures so far: "We need to make the Gtech a fortress and I'm very pleased that we started with two wins in the Premier League and one cup win. Last year we were OK at home, at best, but the year before we were really, really good. We need to help the fans, the fans need to help us, so that it's very difficult to play at our place."
Frank says it is "way, way, way too early" to consider this weekend's fixture as a 'must-win' for West Ham's Julen Lopetegui, who has faced scrutiny over his side's start to the season.
What's with the dark arts?published at 07:58 27 September
07:58 27 September
There has been a lot of conversation this week about "dark arts" in football following the draw between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday.
Realistically, everyone who has watched football for longer than one game has seen things they would perceive as "dark arts"; whether it is a player always going down winning free-kicks to take the sting out of the game, kicking the ball into row Z when there was no multi-ball system or time-wasting on goal-kicks.
These are things we see all the time but our perception of it is dependent on the context of a game. You always see some version of it somewhere, and you hope your team would be doing the same thing if in the same situation - because why should you do something that would benefit the opposition you are against?
It is the same as going down a bit more easily to win penalties - some people will say "this guy is a cheat", but then on the other side of their mouth, if it is something that could benefit them, they say "he has tried too hard to stay up, he needed to go down there".
You can have rulings, Ifab can get involved to change this and that, but there will always be a way to push the rules to their limits.
What we saw with Arsenal in that game, where David Raya sat down to get some treatment while the teams gathered, we have seen those moments before. It is not just new to Arsenal - other teams do it.
It is always based on certain moments. You do get more frustrated if it happens against you, but when you need to do it, you encourage people to do it. That is one of the beauties of football - the way you see things is always going to be down to perception, context and just whether you think it is benefiting you or not.
Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Phil Cartwright
'Home comforts' - Bees need morepublished at 16:55 26 September
16:55 26 September
Phil Parry BBC Radio London reporter
As with the previous two away games last week’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur could have yielded some form of return for their efforts but Brentford had to settle for ifs and maybes, not tangible points.
At Liverpool, a couple of important chances did not go in. At Manchester City a second goal to add to the early opener may have made things interesting. And at Spurs the glossed over Vicario handling outside the penalty area was an important moment, if not critical.
But the Bees return home this weekend and after a tough run of away fixtures to start the season a third successive victory at the G-Tech alongside progress to the last 16 of the League Cup would be seen as a positive start.
Thomas Frank’s side could do with enjoying home comforts over the next few months as it would be the bedrock of a potentially good season. In the last campaign the fans in west London only enjoyed five wins, half as many as the previous year when the side finished in the top half of the table. In fact, only the bottom three secured fewer home victories in season 2023-24.
Frank will no doubt indicate that the six points accrued from the opening five games in total is probably short of what is deserved. But if they were to make it nine from six with a win over a West Ham side who appear to be under some scrutiny if not pressure, it would make his walk of gratitude around the pitch at full time a little sweeter this weekend.