Julen Lopetegui believes West Ham have deserved more than just four points from their opening five Premier League games but called on his players to be more clinical in front of goal.
The Hammers exited the EFL Cup in midweek against Liverpool despite taking the lead, with a second-half collapse seeing them end up on the wrong end of a 5-1 defeat at Anfield.
Lopetegui has endured a frustrating start to his West Ham tenure thus far but is hoping that a victory against Brentford this weekend will kick his side into gear.
"I am sure that these players will overcome but it is true that we need one win, and we want to win the next match,” Lopetegui said.
"Brentford are a strong team and we have to head into the match with big energy and commitment. In the Premier League, each match is very difficult for every team.
"We have had good moments, but we need to be more consistent to make sure we win matches.
"In the matches we have lost we have deserved more, but I repeat, we have lost them, and we don’t find excuses, and we have to improve."
Another head coach hoping to see his side rediscover their goal-scoring touch is Brentford’s Thomas Frank after seeing his team lose to Tottenham last time out.
Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring with just 23 seconds on the clock for the visitors, only for Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison to respond to relieve the pressure on Ange Postecoglou.
While the Bees head coach acknowledged the gulf between both sides, he said that his problems have not been made easier with the absence of some of his key players.
"I'm very pleased with the performance, I think we did a lot of good things,” Frank said.
"We need to take those chances if we want to get something here, playing against a very good team who have performed well over the first five games.
"We are playing against a team whose end stand is bigger than our stadium in terms of capacity. That shows the difference. No complaints.
"It's my job to put a competitive team out there but it doesn't help when we have five potential starters out."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo
Mbeumo has been involved in 13 goals in his last 14 London derby appearances in the Premier League (10 goals and three assists).
He’s also scored four of Brentford’s seven league goals so far this season.
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
Bowen has scored more league goals against Brentford than he has against any other side in his career (seven), also netting a hat-trick against the Bees in a 4-2 Premier League win last season.
MATCH PREDICTION: BRENTFORD WIN
Brentford have won four of their last five home league games against West Ham (D1), winning all three against them in the Premier League.
The Bees have also scored at least twice in all six of their Premier League meetings with the Hammers, the joint-most one side has faced another while scoring multiple goals each time in the competition’s history (Arsenal also six vs Reading).
Frank’s side have opened the scoring in the opening 23 seconds in both of their last league games (22 seconds v Man City and 23 seconds v Tottenham) but have gone on to lose both times. Indeed, since the start of last season, the Bees have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side (36).
But having lost their first five Premier League games against Brentford, West Ham won their last league meeting with the Bees 4-2 in February.
However, the Hammers have conceded more goals in 2024 than any other current Premier League side (53), with the Hammers shipping 3+ goals in eight different games so far this calendar year.
West Ham, though, will be hoping to continue their solid run away from the London Stadium. Despite losing three of their five home games this season, they have found success on their travels, going unbeaten so far (W1 D1).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brentford – 43.4%
Draw – 25.1%
West Ham – 31.5%
Gilbert eyes strong JPL run after goalless stalemate with Real Hope confirms Caribbean Cup exit
Arnett Gardens Head Coach Xavier Gilbert was left with a mixed bag of emotions following his team’s goalless draw against Haitian club Real Hope in their Group A Concacaf Caribbean Cup encounter.
While pleased with their usual attacking intent and defensive resilience, which earned them their first point of the tournament, Gilbert admitted that he would have liked to secure all three points in the heated affair at the National Stadium on Wednesday to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
The “Junglists” were more threatening in open play and felt they should have won the contest as they had a goal ruled out for offside, while a penalty call, which should have gone their way, was not given.
As such, the result left them rooted at the bottom of the group on a point, as Cavalier (six points), Real Hope (five points), Police FC (four points), and Mount Pleasant FA (three points) remain in contention for the top two spots to the semis.
With one game to come against Mount Pleasant on October 3, Gilbert is hoping they can secure a win to cap off what he described as a valuable experience for the team in the regional competition.
“Honestly, it’s a bit of a bittersweet feeling; I think it was a tough encounter, but I can fault the guys for trying. I’m happy that the team showed great effort and fight, but decision-making in the final third could have been better,” Gilbert told Sportsmax.TV.
“On the other hand, I thought we were just unlucky to not get the full points last night, especially in the way some calls went against us, but that's the way it is, sometimes we get them and sometimes we don't. We came into this game hoping to get the victory, but we were just a bit short in the final third,” he added.
Despite the shortfall, Gilbert highlighted the positives of the Caribbean Cup campaign and believes the team has gained crucial exposure and experience testing themselves against regional opponents. This, he said, will serve them well for the remainder of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) season.
“We fight on nonetheless; we are happy for the exposure that we got at this level, and hopefully we can use this as a catalyst to do well in the local league and make it back here next season because these are the types of tournaments we need to be involved in more often,” he explained.
“Playing teams from across the Caribbean pushes us to raise our level and exposes the areas we need to improve. The intensity and quality are slightly different from what we face locally, and the players have to adapt quickly. It’s an experience we’ll definitely build on going forward,” he noted.
With the JPL season already in full swing and Arnett Gardens, Gilbert has already shifting his focus to ensuring that his team come out stronger for their next encounter against promoted Racing United on Sunday.
The CFU Club Shield winning coach believes the lessons learned in the Caribbean Cup can propel the team to a successful domestic season, which would, in turn, put them back in contention for another crack at the regional tournament next year.
Arnett Gardens currently sit second on the JPL standings on three points from their opening 3-0 win over Dunbeholden FC.
“We have to take what we’ve learned here (in the Caribbean Cup) and channel it into our JPL campaign. The goal now is to be consistent, play good football, and secure one of those top spots to qualify for the Caribbean Cup again. This tournament has given us a taste of what’s possible, and I’m confident we’ll be better equipped next time around.” Gilbert stated confidently.
The tactician is counting on his team’s mix of experienced campaigners and emerging talents to continue growing and improving as they look to reclaim domestic glory. He also expressed gratitude to the club’s fans for their unwavering support throughout the tournament and promised that they would see a revitalized Arnett Gardens as the JPL season progresses.
“We’re going back to the drawing board with a renewed focus and determination,” he said.
“The fans deserve nothing but our best effort, and we’re committed to making sure we’re back in the Caribbean Cup next year and, more importantly, compete for titles,” Gilbert ended.
'Bunny' Shaw at the double as City blank Paris FC 3-0 to secure Champions League group stage play
After missing out on the first leg due to visa issues, Jamaican international Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw once again showed her class in second leg action, as she scored a brace that propelled Manchester City to a 3-0 win over Paris FC and into the Women’s Champions League group stages.
Gareth Taylor said Manchester City are back “where they belong” after they finally ended their disappointing streak in Europe’s top club competition and reaching the, by completing a comprehensive 8-0 aggregate victory over Paris FC.
Shaw found the target in the 31st and 65th minutes, after Chloe Kelly (2nd) opened the scoring in a lopsided contest at the Joie Stadium, as City wrapped up a comprehensive 8-0 aggregate scoreline.
Taylor’s confident-looking side were not involved in Europe at all last season and had been eliminated by Real Madrid in the qualifying rounds of the two campaigns before that. They will now contest the last-16 stage of the competition for the first time since 2020-21, when the knockout format was still in use, and will harbour realistic ambitions of going deep into the competition on the evidence of their strong showing over the two legs of this second-round tie.
“It’s a big honour for us. This is where we want to be. The qualification process is really tough. I’m not the only coach, I’m sure, who has sat, over the past couple of years, with a squad that felt capable of not just being in the Champions League, but actually doing something within it,” Taylor said in a post-game interview.
“Man City is a big club. We feel like we belong there, because we are a big team and we have huge ambitions, but of course the club recognises how difficult it is to be there because of the qualification process. I never felt safe, even at 5-0. A lot of things can go wrong in football. Nothing is a formality,” he added.
Kelly put City in front when she pounced on a loose ball and slotted home inside five minutes.
She then turned provider for Shaw with a weighted cross that the towering Jamaican lashed home for her first goal of the season.
Shaw then registered her second from the penalty spot after she was taken out inside the 18-yard box.
Manchester City, who were semi-finalists in 2017 and 2018, can now look forward to the group-stage draw on Friday and Taylor is cautiously optimistic about their chances there.
“I think getting out of the group stages is going to be our next objective, and once we get out of the group stages, anything can happen. We just want a crack at it, that’s what we want,” he said.
New England Revolution v Nashville SC: Porter holding out hope for playoff spot
Caleb Porter still believes New England Revolution have an outside chance of making the playoffs if they win all their games, starting with Nashville SC.
The Revs currently sit bottom of the Eastern Conference on 28 points and are eight points behind Philadelphia Union in ninth.
They are winless in their last five matches though, alternating between losses and draws, and were heavily beaten 4-0 by Charlotte FC last weekend after Dylan Borrero's sending-off.
Porter remains hopeful, though even he admits it may be just out of the Revs' reach.
"I might be stupid, but I still believe that we can win all five [games] and get in [the MLS Cup Playoffs] somehow," he said, as quoted in The Blazing Musket substack.
"That is the approach that I'm going to take. But if we don't, we are building for the future and I expect, obviously, that we continue developing and keep building.
"We want to give the fans hope and something to look forward to and the right message that we are continuing to grow and that even though this season has been difficult, there is going to be a light at the end of the tunnel."
Meanwhile, Nashville are five points and three places better off than their opponents, after an impressive week saw them win two and draw one of their games.
Head coach BJ Callaghan was left frustrated by some decisions in their 2-2 draw with FC Cincinnati but expects his team to be stronger for it.
"We're a team and a locker room that talks about responding to adversity, training responses, not having emotional reactions to things, so that's part of the game," Callaghan said.
"Decisions are made, and it's our job to respond and move forward."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New England Revolution – Aljaz Ivacic
New England's 4-0 defeat to Charlotte on Saturday was the club's 13th loss by multiple goals in the 2024 regular season.
The Revs have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 MLS outings (5-0 win over Montreal), and Aljaz Ivacic will be desperate to improve on that run.
Nashville SC – Sam Surridge
Sam Surridge scored both of Nashville's goals in the 2-2 draw with Cincinnati on Saturday.
Each of the last four multi-goal games by a Nashville player, including all three this season, have been by Surridge.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION WIN
Three of the four meetings between New England and Nashville in Foxborough have ended in draws, with the Revs winning the other meeting 1-0 in March 2023. There have been three total goals scored in the four matches, with two of those coming in the 1-1 draw in the Leagues Cup meeting on August 6.
New England are winless in four straight regular season home matches (D3 L1), though each of the last three home games have finished level. This is their longest regular-season winless run in Foxborough since a five-match drought in March-September 2020.
Meanwhile, Nashville are unbeaten in three straight matches (W2 D1) following an eight-match regular-season losing streak. Nashville won their last away match 2-0 at Atlanta United but have not won consecutive regular-season road games since May-June 2023.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New England Revolution – 44.2%
Draw – 26.8%
Nashville SC – 28.9%
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