West Ham United

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo speaking to BBC Sport following the 2-0 defeat to Brentford: "It was tough. Not just for me. It was tough for our fans, for our players, for everybody.

"The first 15 minutes things were clicking and the team were organised and combining well. After that we lost composure.

"Credit to Brentford, a physical team that put us under problems. Throw-ins, corners and the momentum of the game changed."

On his half-time changes: "We were being fragile at the back. It was almost 0-2 [after the VAR disallowed goal] and it becomes harder."

On whether he is still learning about his players: "Every day. Every moment. We're not going to sleep. "It's a challenge for all of us. It's up to us to change the momentum and bring our fans back to support us In four days time we need a big improvement."

Did you know?

• West Ham United have lost five successive home games in the top-flight for the second time in their history, previously doing so in April 1931.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It is hard to imagine how Nuno Espirito Santo's first home game in charge of West Ham could have gone any worse

This was a miserable night on and off the pitch for the hosts.

There were plenty of empty seats amid the latest phase of protests organised by fan group Hammers United, who want chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady to leave.

Those who were there then booed the team off at half-time, most had left long before the final whistle with the few that did stay again displaying their frustration at the final whistle.

The Hammers have now lost their first four home league games, and did not deserve anything from a woeful showing against a Brentford side that had not picked up a point on their travels before coming to London Stadium.

Apart from one bright run from Crysencio Summerville from the halfway line to the penalty area and Jarrod Bowen's low strike being saved, there was little to excite West Ham fans.

This was a painful reality check of how big a challenge Nuno faces as he attempts to keep West Ham in the top flight. On this evidence, the Hammers face a long season and a relegation battle.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on West Ham's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Come back on Tuesday for a selection of your replies

Nuno Espirito Santo makes five changes to the West Ham starting line-up in his first home game in charge of the Hammers.

In come 19-year-old full-back Ollie Scarles, Jean-Clair Todibo, Kyle Walker-Peters, Tomas Soucek (back after a three-game ban) and Andy Irving.

West Ham XI: Areola, Scarles, Kilman, Todibo, Walker-Peters, Soucek, Irving, Summerville, Fernandes, Paqueta, Bowen.

Just the one change from Brentford boss Keith Andrews to the 11 that began the 1-0 loss to Manchester City on 5 October as Dango Ouattara is in and Aaron Hickey misses out.

Brentford XI: Kelleher, Yarmoliuk, Van Den Berg, Collins, Ajer, Kayode, Damsgaard, Henderson, Ouattara, Thiago, Schade.

West Ham have lost three out of three at home - the same as Brentford have done away - so something has got to give here.

This could be 0-0 on the basis that both teams will just sit in their own half - I don't think either team will want the ball and both managers prefer to play on the counter-attack.

Nuno Espirito Santo has been brought in to keep the Hammers up, so he is not going to change the style of play that has brought him success.

I am not sure how that will go down with the West Ham fans - recent history suggests they are not going to like it, but they are going to have to get used to it.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews also likes to park the bus, so I don't see there being many chances at either end, or much ambition to score.

I can feel myself edging towards another 0-0 prediction but instead I am going to be optimistic and say there will be a goal... and a first West Ham win for Nuno.

He has already beaten Brentford once, as Forest manager on the opening weekend of the season, so this would be a very welcome double for him.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

West Ham play their first home game under Nuno Espirito Santo, taking on a Brentford side who have only lost one of their eight Premier League matches against the Hammers. BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before Monday's fixture.

The Hammers' new head coach has plenty on his plate after succeeding Graham Potter but improving the team's dismal home form must be the immediate priority. West Ham have lost all three of their games at London Stadium this term, with disenchanted fans streaming out early during heavy defeats against Chelsea and Tottenham and a similarly toxic atmosphere in the recent reverse to Crystal Palace.

Some supporters protested against the board before the loss to Palace and a boycott is also planned for this match, although campaign organisers have stressed their actions are not aimed at Nuno or his players.

The Hammers have the worst defensive record in the top flight before this latest round of fixtures so it would be no surprise to see a change of system against the Bees. Nuno reportedly fielded a back three during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Championship side Ipswich during the international break, and a new system could perhaps provide his side with a more solid structure.

However the Hammers line up, supporters will expect to see the team make amends for their woeful recent record in derby matches. They have lost all four of their Premier League London derbies this season, conceding a total of 12 goals, and are at risk of losing five such fixtures in a row for the first time since 2010.

Brentford are Hammers' bogey side

Brentford have lost all three of their away league games under Keith Andrews but will take encouragement from their impressive record against West Ham. They have won six of eight Premier League meetings, more victories than against any other opponent, including a 1-0 win at the London Stadium in February.

Andrews' team were beaten by Manchester City last time out, though they once again caused problems with long throw-ins. Brentford have delivered 34 throws into box in the league this season, more than any other side, and could have some success with that ploy against a West Ham side that have already conceded eight times from corners.

While set-pieces have been a crucial part of Brentford's success since promotion in 2021, the Bees may have to lean on them even more under Andrews, who was their set-piece coach until taking over as head coach in June.

Under the Irishman, Brentford are playing fewer passes, taking fewer shots and having fewer touches in the opposition box per game than in any of their previous Premier League campaigns.

Grace Wheeler
BBC Sport researcher

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Monday's Premier League game against Brentford at London Stadium (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Niclas Fullkrug is undergoing tests for a lower leg injury: "He just had a scan and we're waiting on the results."

• Beyond Fullkrug, all other players away on international duty have returned unscathed.

• Nuno is looking forward to his first home game in charge of West Ham: "We haven't changed anything specific, just implementing routines. For me, it's hard to analyse what's happened before. We want to improve, and we know the home form factor is important."

• On rumours of supporters boycotting the match: "I wish all our fans will join us and support us. It's up to us to give back to the fans so they can grow close to us, make them support us and help us so we can change everything and become a fortress.

• On getting the most out of forward Crysencio Summerville: "He has a lot of talent. He has his own specific characteristics - speed and very aggressive one on one. It's up to us to manage the ball and get it to our front players at the right time and in the right positions.

• He said West Ham's forward options are strong: "It is a healthy fight for the position. They're different players, but it's a good situation."

• On visitors Brentford: "They are a good team. They compete well and they have a lot of threats. They have good players and are good at set-pieces, so it's going to be a tough game."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Real Madrid could send Endrick out on loan in January, but West Ham are not viewed as a viable destination for the 19-year-old Brazil forward. (Teamtalk), external

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Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League table is starting to take shape and while results are obviously what matter most, they don't tell the whole story in terms of how teams have been playing so far.

Expected goals (xG) tells us how much teams have been dominating games by creating lots of good chances up front and restricting opponents to few, bad ones at the back.

Penalties are excluded because they distort a team's numbers on how threatening or vulnerable they are in general, especially at this early stage.

Below is a graphic showing how good teams have been in attack and defence, with the most dominant teams in the top-right corner and the least impressive in the bottom-left corner.

Arsenal and Manchester City have been the most dominant sides, with the Gunners having the best defence and fourth-best attack and City the joint-best attack and fourth-best defence.

High-flying Crystal Palace are the only side to rival City's attacking threat, while Newcastle are living up to their name by being almost as impregnable at the back as Arsenal.

Both Manchester United and Chelsea have one of the top five attacks in the league but worryingly also rank in the bottom five defensively.

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Liverpool's back-to-back defeats following five straight wins gives a more accurate picture of how they have been playing, while Tottenham have needed to be very efficient to make up for their lack of dominance in games.

Aston Villa's early-season struggles are no longer to do with finishing - they have now scored six non-penalty goals from an xG of 6.0 - but simply because they have not been playing well.

While promoted sides Leeds and Sunderland have adapted quite well to the top-flight, Burnley have struggled to make the jump so far with both the worst attack and the worst defence.

Read more on what expected goals tell us about the start to the season

West Ham fan Holly Turbutt hopes to see Nuno Espirito Santo's "win-at-all-costs" mentality in the players when they return from the international break.

Find more from Holly Turbutt at West Ham Network, external

West Ham are tentatively interested in a deal for striker Emmanuel Dennis following his release by Nottingham Forest in August, with Watford also exploring interest in the 27-year-old Nigerian. (Mail), external

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Michail Antonio has started training with Brentford.

The 35-year-old left West Ham in August following the expiry of his contract - eight months after he was seriously injured in a car crash.

He made 323 appearances in a 10-year period at the club, scoring 83 goals, and started the 2023 Conference League final when West Ham ended their 43-year wait for a major trophy.

Antonio training with Brentford does not necessarily the Bees are planning to offer him a contract, but he lives locally and is using the opportunity to stay match fit.

West Ham's record Premier League goalscorer holds the belief that he can return to playing and scoring regularly after the injuries sustained in December 2024.

West Ham United, Real Sociedad and Valencia are all in a race to sign 19-year-old Real Madrid and Brazil striker Endrick on loan in January. (Estadio Deportivo - in Spanish), external

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Nick Godwin
BBC Radio London reporter

Nuno Espirito Santo's exclusion of midfielder James Ward-Prowse so far as West Ham manager has been the subject of several questions sent in via our 'Ask about West Ham' form this week.

This is not the first time Ward-Prowse appears to have fallen out of favour in a squad managed by Nuno.

His loan spell at Nottingham Forest was cut short and he returned to east London after playing just 10 times for the Reds under the Portuguese at the start of last season.

He was regularly involved in the Hammers team at the start of this campaign when Graham Potter was in charge, but has been left out of the squad entirely for Nuno's first two games against Everton and Arsenal.

West Ham have a number of midfielders in their squad who are of a similar age -Ward-Prowse, Thomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez are all 30 or over.

So far, Nuno has preferred to use younger, quicker players in that area of the pitch, such as Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa.

It may be that Ward-Prowse simply does not fit the way the new West Ham manager wants to play in midfield, and that is why he finds himself out in the cold once again.

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Chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Paul asked: What do you make of the situation at West Ham United? The poor running of the club seems to finally be being noticed.

Phil answered: West Ham are simply reaping what they have sown, with poor signings and poor managerial appointments since David Moyes left.

Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter failed miserably and both ended up looking out of their depth.

Now it is Nuno Espirito Santo's turn, and no-one can question how well he did at Nottingham Forest.

There is so much unrest at West Ham, with protests against the ownership in the shape of David Sullivan and Karren Brady and, of course, a stadium which is drained of atmosphere after the wonderful environment that was Upton Park.

An awful lot rests on Nuno for those in charge at West Ham United.

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West Ham are interested in Manchester United's 24-year-old Netherlands forward Joshua Zirkzee, with new manager Nuno Espirito Santo keen to bolster his attacking options. (Football Insider), external

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