West Ham v Brentford: FA Cup fifth round – live
Key events
13 min Kayode, by the way, is another player good enough for the highest level. Obviously you get the bonus of the throw-ins, but those aside, he can fill in on either side, is strong, has recovery pace, and isn’t scared to get forward. I’m excited to see how he develops.
11 min Schade wins a challenge in midfield and plays infield to Outtara, who hooks back to him. He espies Kayode marching forward from right-back, Traore having let him go, and this is a chance! But the shot is high-percentage, low and straight at Areola who, rather than let it through his legs, saves with his feet. Kayode really ought to have done better – he had the option of power or finesse and picked neither, instead finishing Lukaku-style, picking the option it’s hardest to mess up and, in the process, giving the keeper a chance when he might’ve had none.
8 min I mentioned him a moment ago, and I’m a big fan of Matheus Fernandes; I’d not be surprised if he was at a Champions League club next season. What I especially like about him is his excellence in all phases of midfield play: he’s press-resistant enough to take the ball off the defence, can carry or pass it through the middle, and has the vision to create in the final third. To what level he can do all of these remains to be seen, but he’s looking to contribute in all those aspects.
7 min The aforementioned away pyjamas.
5 min Fernandes spreads to Traore but puts too much on the pass, forcing his mate to let it hit his head. He chases back to recover it, though, only for brentford to move forward with Damsgaard. He squares to meet the stride of Henderson, arriving on to the ball just outside the box … and the rising shot flies a yard or two wide.
5 min Keane Lewis-Potter sounds more like a midfield three than a right-back.
3 min West Ham have made changes but they’re looking to get after it, Pablo wining possession inside his own half before finding Bowen and carrying his run on into the box; the return-pass has too much on it.
3 min The corner is cleared to the edge, where Scarles waves a foot, sending a shot high and wide.
2 min Now it’s West Ham with the long ball, finding Bowen in centrefield. He megs Lewis-Potter, ploughs forward, and hits a shot which is deflected behind.
1 min Ajer slings a long one over the top and Schade is on to it, left side of the box and allowing the ball ro drop before lashing over the bar.
1 min Brentford set us away. Given the side Nuno’s sent out, they’ll surely fancy themselves.
Our teams come out, Brentford wearing their away pyjamas.
Where is the game? Despite the changes, in Jarrod Bowen and Matheus Fernandes, West Ham have two game-changers in forward positions, and they’ll be expected to provide invention and counter-attacking threat, likewise Adam Traore.
Brentford, meanwhile, will look to Thiago to move about and run in behind if and when there’s space, with the full-backs pushing on to support the wingers, stretch the pitch and sling crosses into the box.
The winners tonight face Leeds at home for a semi-final spot. That’s a pretty nifty reward, especially with one of Liverpool and Man City disappearing.
“Fulham’s ‘nine changes’s aren’t really what they seem,” says Graham Leggit. “There were four changes for the previous game against West Ham earlier in the week, some switched back. Muniz, Chuckweze and Anderson are just back from injury and needed a start – theoretically against lower-league opposition should have been an ideal place. For the manager, a sense of urgency is probably difficult to maintain throughout a long season. From what I heard on the radio, despite having 24 shots, that was the main problem.”
Yeah, I saw the midweek changes, but the best players in the squad were left on the bench – I don’t think that can be challenged. Of course the side selected should still have beaten Soton at home, but it’s not easy to find cohesion in that situation, especially when the manager has effectively told his team he’s not that arsed but thinks they should win anyway.
As for Brentford, they make just three changes – Keith Andrews knows this is a chance. Rico Henry is injured, so drops out with Keane Lewis-Potter coming in; otherwise, Kristoffer Ajer and Yehor Yarmoliuk replace the rotated Sepp van den Berg and Mathias Jensen.
Back to those teams, Nuno makes seven changes to the side which won at Fulham in midweek. In come Alphonse Areola, Kyle Walker-Peters, Ollie Scarles, Dinos Mavropanos, Mohamadou Kanté, Adama Traore and Pablo Felipe, with Mats Hermansen, Aaron Wan-Bissaja, Jean-Clair Todibo, El-Hadji Diouf, Crysencio Summerville, Valentin Castellanos and Callum wilson dropping out.
Quarter-final draw
Southampton v Arsenal
Chelsea v Port Vale
Manchester City v Liverpool
West Ham or Brentford v Leeds United
Ties to be played on the weekend of 4th and 5th April 2026.
The teams
West Ham: Areola, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Disasi, Scarles, Soucek, Kanté, Bowen, Fernandes, Traoré, Pablo
Subs: Herrick, Kilman, Summerville, Wilson, Castellanos, Magassa, Wan-Bissaka, Potts, Mayers
Brentford: Kelleher, Lewis-Potter, Collins, Ajer, Kayode, Henderson, Yarmolyuk, Schade, Damsgaard, Ouattara, Igor Thiago
Subs: Valdimarsson, Van den Berg, Pinnock, Jensen, Donovan, Furo, Bentt, Shield, Stephenson
Preamble
In 147 years of existence, Fulham have won the FA Cup a grand total of zero times. Currently, they sit 10th in the Premier League, well clear of relegation with a Conference League spot possible but unlikely.
But what has that to do with a game between West Ham and Brentford? Well, following the midweek round of fixtures, Marco Silva made nine changes to his team, behaviour more craven than the Cottage itself, and they duly lost at home to Southampton, their shot at glory gone – to what end?
It may be that Nuno Espírito Santo feels compelled to do similarly this evening, with West Ham stuck in a relegation ruckus – though it makes just as much sense that, after a fine away win, he seeks to sustain momentum. Keith Andrews, though, has no such aggravation, Brentford lying seventh in the table and in good enough form to think progress in the Cup will elevate rather than undermine their quest for a European spot.
Ultimately, football is about moments and memories, experiences that live forever and are passed down through generations. As guardians of their clubs, it is for managers to chase these, not refuse them fearful of their own inability to stave off subsequent unspecified misfortune; just ask Oliver Glasner, Brendan Rodgers of Roberto Martínez all of them now immortal after giving Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Wigan Athletic fans perhaps the greatest day of their lives. There are no reasons, only excuses; no prudence, only cowardice.
Kick-off: 7.30pm GMT
