West Ham United will not care too much about their likely exit from the FA Cup – according to pundit Chris Sutton.
That is a natural conclusion to come to given the high stakes of the relegation battle in the Premier League this season, but it does fly in the face of what Nuno Espirito Santo has said about the FA Cup.
Indeed, ahead of West Ham vs Brentford, Nuno said: “The [FA] Cup is always a good competition for us. We love the FA Cup, and this is what we are focused on now.”
If you think I’m talking rubbish by naming this team vs Brentford – let me know why 👇
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Still, Sutton – who has frequently tipped West Ham to lose in recent weeks only to watch them often pick up a positive result – thinks they will rest players and subsequently lose to the Bees.
Sutton predicts that a rotated West Ham team will lose 2-0 to Brentford
Writing in his BBC Sport column, Sutton said while predicting a 2-0 win for Brentford: “I hate to see Premier League teams making changes for the FA Cup but, with the teams battling relegation, I can at least understand them doing it.
“West Ham will definitely rest some players here, and I don’t think they will be too bothered if they go out.
“The first match my dad took me to as a boy was the 1980 FA Cup final, when Trevor Brooking scored West Ham’s winner with a header, but I don’t see them back at Wembley this time.
What would you sacrifice for FA Cup GLORY?
Surely not your Premier League status…
“It was a brilliant moment for Hammers fans and a highlight of their history, and I am sure Brentford supporters would love to experience something similar.
“The furthest they’ve ever been in the FA Cup is the quarter-finals, on four occasions, and most recently in 1989.
“I get that Keith Andrews’ side could make it into Europe through their league position, but why not try to do the same by winning the FA Cup? Let’s hope they go for it.”
It would hardly be a surprise to see Sutton’s prediction come true, in all honesty.
Brentford are in fine form and do not have a relegation battle to consider, so they can go as close to full strength as possible.
However, the world’s oldest cup competition has already played a big role in West Ham’s season.
In fact, Jarrod Bowen cites West Ham’s FA Cup win over QPR as helping turn their season around.
With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine Nuno will suddenly tank his side’s cup campaign by naming purely youngsters, as that would do little to keep the momentum up if they are duly thrashed.
The changes that Nuno Espirito Santo could make vs Brentford
That’s not to say that there won’t be changes, however.
Though the wide-scale rotation that was made for the fourth round win over Burton probably won’t be seen again here, Nuno could shuffle his pack somewhat.
The likes of Mohamadou Kante, Ezra Mayers and Keiber Lamadrid could all play for West Ham against Brentford, but that doesn’t mean supporters won’t get to see some of the senior stars too.
This surely isn’t a game that West Ham will totally tank but it would not be an absolute disaster if they were beaten.
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