Sutton's predictions: West Ham United v Brentfordpublished at 07:58 GMT 9 March
07:58 GMT 9 March
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 United 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.
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.
Nuno on improved form, dealing with setbacks and 'almost crazy' set-piecespublished at 14:45 GMT 6 March
14:45 GMT 6 March
Nicola Pearson BBC Sport journalist
Media caption,
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Monday's FA Cup fifth round tie against Brentford at London Stadium (kick-off 19:30 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Nuno confirmed they are "assessing day by day" forward Pablo but he is "improving a lot". After the midweek win over Fulham, he added they are "recovering, assessing and then preparing".
The Hammers boss said "it was not me, it was the players" when asked about the side's improving form, adding that "the results are helping" the better "atmosphere and mood".
On how they have become better at bouncing back from difficult results: "We've been able to react well. It's not possible every time but to bounce back from poor performances is always important, especially in the fight we are involved in. We saw against Fulham that the players reacted well after Liverpool, so hopefully it continues. What we want to avoid is setbacks, so let's keep this flow as long as we can."
Following Tottenham's result against Crystal Palace, Nuno insisted that while they watch all the games, they know they "cannot influence anything, we are just spectators, so it doesn't mean anything for us". He added: "We are still in the same situation. We have a lot of work in front of us."
With opponents Brentford strong at set-pieces, when asked about the current debate around style of play in the league, Nuno responded: "It has changed. What referees are allowing from set-piece situations is almost crazy. I think they should review it. I think they should come to the clubs and speak to the players."
He added: "They need to try to really explain to them what is a foul, what contact is and how far you can go with contact, so that the players are more clear on their actions - because we are seeing things that are not normal. I consider many of them fouls."
As a former goalkeeper, Nuno was asked about how he finds balance when coaching players about what they can do in the box: "Not long ago, a contact on the keeper inside the six-yard box was considered a foul. It was the laws of the game. Now, it has changed totally. I'm glad I don't have to play now because it is really, really hard on them. It is not just because we are playing Brentford - all over the league, as mangers, we have worry and concern about it."
Fulham 0-1 West Ham United - the fans' verdictpublished at 09:51 GMT 5 March
09:51 GMT 5 March
This content isn't available anymore.
There was an error
We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Premier League game between Fulham and West Ham United.
Here are some of your comments:
Fulham fans
Neville: Another poor season for us.some changes are needed.players or management. I'm not sure what.
Ben: A real togetherness is evident within the team now. We must keep maintaining these clean sheets as we don't score enough. Still believe we can do it.
Campbell: Very disappointing second half, we did not look like we wanted to win it, gave away possession to often and a rare mistake from Leno. Hope we can come back against Southampton.
Matt: Silva seems to have decided he doesn't want Europe with the starting lineup and setup. Strange.
Louis: Overall poor performance. I am mainly going to blame Marco Silva, why change the successful lineup when we are doing well. Iwobi was very good in the midfield role, so why change it!
West Ham fans
Joe: Wasn't our best performance I have seen this season but it was a very important 3 points to get. We are now really scaring those above us, Summerville comes up with the goods again and Hermansen made some vital saves. We have a tough run in but after this win, I wouldn't count us out.
Gregory: Massive massive win. Brings us closer to safety and it's so good to see our keeper put in a good performance. The only think better than surviving would be to send spurs down as well.
Barry: First half wasn't great, definitely better in the second. Not an amazing game but definitely a brilliant result. A good team performance against a good Fulham side who have shown good form in the last few weeks. We can really start putting pressure on those just above us. Another great finish by Jimmy.
Sue: What an improvement. They kept trying and didn't give up. If they keep this up we will beat the drop.
Summerville offers Hammers a glimmer of hopepublished at 01:34 GMT 5 March
01:34 GMT 5 March
Keifer MacDonald BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
On a night when West Ham unveiled a new-look strike partnership, it was Summerville who grabbed the headlines.
For the first time since December, Nuno opted for a front two - Castellanos and Callum Wilson - in an attempt to spark his side's survival bid.
But it was Summerville who continued his mission to keep the Hammers afloat, finishing with the composure of a veteran at Craven Cottage.
Since the turn of the year, the 24-year-old has scored seven of West Ham's 17 goals in all competitions - with five of them coming in the Premier League.
After a difficult first 18 months following his £25m move from Leeds in 2024, the winger has emerged as a beacon of hope for Hammers supporters in recent weeks.
For 14 minutes on Wednesday night, his strike had lifted his side out of the relegation zone - at Nottingham Forest's expense - for the first time since December.
Although Forest later fought back to claim a point against Manchester City at the Etihad, West Ham have the Midlands club in their sights and are only a point behind Tottenham who host Crystal Palace on Thursday.
If the Hammers are to beat the drop and preserve their Premier League status, Summerville is likely to have a decisive say.
Fulham 0-1 West Ham: What Nuno and Summerville saidpublished at 21:57 GMT 4 March
21:57 GMT 4 March
Media caption,
Watch Nuno's chat with BBC Match of the Day here
Nuno Espirito Santo spoke to TNT Sports after West Ham's victory against Fulham: "It was a very difficult match. I think the boys gave it their all. It's a tough place to come. A fantastic team, Fulham, even after they make the subs, they're stronger. We fight until the end and it means a lot to us, it means a lot to our fans that were huge today the help that they gave us."
On Crysencio Summerville's goal: "He's in a very good moment. He's full of confidence. He's helping the team a lot. "
On keeping a clean sheet: "The clean sheet is always our goal when we start the games. We want to be compact to our opponents because the talent that we have can make the difference."
On the trajectory of the team: "We are improving game by game. It can happen, games like Liverpool, but the confidence is there and the boys are working very hard, very committed knowing that the situation that we are [in] doesn't change anything. We are focused on ourselves and keep going."
Crysencio Summerville spoke to TNT Sports: "Very massive, we have to fight until the end, that's what we did. I am very pleased to get the three points.
"The ball came to me, so I needed to take my composure. The coach said we have to be composed in the final third, I took the advice and I am happy I took it away!
"I am in a good space, I love to play, I am just happy to be back and I try to show it every week.
"We have to keep going now, we took positives from the Liverpool game, we had lots of positives, the fans behind us are very pleased and we are going in the right direction, the only way is up."
Did you know?
West Ham United have won four of their last eight Premier League games (D2 L2), more than they managed across their first 21 matches this season (W3 D5 L13).
Fulham v West Ham: Team newspublished at 18:40 GMT 4 March
18:40 GMT 4 March
Manager Marco Silva has made four changes to the team that defeated Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with Antonee Robinson, Samuel Chukwueze, Tom Cairney and Josh King coming in for Harry Wilson (injured), Emile Smith Rowe, Ryan Sessegnon and Oscar Bobb.
Nuno Espirito Santo has also shuffled his pack ahead of tonight's game at Craven Cottage, with Jean Todibo and Callum Wilson replacing Konstantinos Mavropanos and Soungoutou Magassa.
West Ham XI: Hermansen, Wan-Bissaka, Disasi, Todibo, Diouf; Bowen, Soucek, Fernandes, Summerville; Wilson Castellanos
Nuno Espirito Santo has also shuffled his pack ahead of tonight's game at Craven Cottage, with Jean Todibo and Callum Wilson replacing Konstantinos Mavropanos and Soungoutou Magassa.
You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Brighton v Arsenal" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Man Utd", for instance.
Why Carrick chose West Ham over Newcastlepublished at 13:26 GMT 4 March
13:26 GMT 4 March
Ciaran Kelly Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Michael Carrick's love of the game was quickly apparent when he was profiled on the BBC's Saturday morning children's television show Live & Kicking in 1995.
Seated in front of the camera in a Newcastle shirt and surrounded by posters of his idols, including Peter Beardsley, viewers might have felt he was destined to one day represent his boyhood club.
Newcastle had even attempted to pull out one or two stops to convince Carrick to join.
Beardsley presented Carrick with a cake on his 13th birthday at St James' Park while the youngster was invited to play in the prestigious Milk Cup youth tournament a year early.
However, that trip to Northern Ireland left a lasting impression for all the wrong reasons after a few of the players 'borrowed' a Mini and drove it around a car park.
Carrick ultimately felt more comfortable at West Ham - a long way from home - after spending time touring a host of suitors across the country.
Although local talents like Lee Clark, Steve Howey, Steve Watson and Robbie Elliott had made the breakthrough into Newcastle's first-team squad, at the time the club did not even have a reserve side.
By contrast, at West Ham, there was a clear pathway - and Carrick never looked back.
This future England international went on to play for the Hammers and Tottenham Hotspur before joining Manchester United, where he won 18 trophies, including five Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Fulham v West Ham: Key stats and talking pointspublished at 09:06 GMT 4 March
09:06 GMT 4 March
Noel Sliney BBC Sport senior journalist
East meets west at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night, with Fulham vying to emulate their victory over West Ham in December's reverse fixture.
While Fulham have rekindled their hopes of European football with successive wins, West Ham's revival has lost some momentum and they remain two points from safety.
Wilson key as Fulham dare to dream
Fulham's season is following a similar pattern to their previous campaigns since promotion in 2022 – sat comfortably mid-table or higher heading into March, with aspirations of qualifying for Europe for the first time since 2011.
They've eventually settled for final league positions of 10th, 14th and 10th again, but could it be different this time?
Last Sunday's victory over Spurs left Fulham in ninth place, behind Everton by the narrowest of goal difference. Eighth could be enough for European qualification this season.
If they are to achieve that target, their difference maker could be Harry Wilson. The in-form winger is a minor fitness doubt to face West Ham after being substituted with an ankle injury at the weekend but only after he'd registered his ninth goal and sixth assist in the Premier League this season. No Fulham player has been directly involved in more goals in a top-flight campaign since Dimitar Berbatov provided 15 goals and three assists in 2012-13.
Wilson, who is out of contract this summer, is reaping the benefits of regular football; he has played 83% of the available minutes in 2025-26, having never before reached 50% in a Premier League season. His impact has been particularly strong over the past 15 top-flight games, during which his 13 goal involvements was only bettered by Bruno Fernandes and Erling Haaland.
Familiar failings return for West Ham
Prior to Saturday's defeat by Liverpool, West Ham had taken 11 points from six games – as many as in their previous 18. They've narrowed the deficit to fourth bottom Nottingham Forest from seven points to two over the past six weeks and can take solace from giving Liverpool a harder game than the 5-2 scoreline suggests.
The Hammers conceded as many goals at Anfield as they had in their previous five league matches combined, and the first three on Saturday all came from corners.
Notwithstanding the fact West Ham had previously gone nearly two months without conceding from a set-piece, they have now let in 15 goals from corners this season – five more than any other side in Europe's top five leagues.
Several other unwanted statistics are hindering West Ham's survival chances. They have now only taken one point from the six most recent fixtures in which they conceded first and are winless in 10 top-flight kick-offs at 7pm or later since beating Leicester a year ago. The Hammers have also lost seven of their eight Premier League London derbies this season – only three sides have ever fared worse.
Sutton's predictions: Fulham v West Hampublished at 08:08 GMT 4 March
08:08 GMT 4 March
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo was very upbeat about his side's performance at Anfield on Saturday, but they lost 5-2.
The only consolation for the Hammers is that the teams immediately above them all lost too.
They lost at home to Fulham in December I don't see them getting anything on Wednesday, either.
Marco Silva's side played really well in their win against Tottenham on Sunday and Harry Wilson is on fire - my advice is to get him in your fantasy team, now.
West Ham show positives despite shipping fivepublished at 08:17 GMT 3 March
08:17 GMT 3 March
Holly Turbutt Fan contributor
Media caption,
West Ham are showing signs that we can actually fight our way out of relegation and this might seem surprising given the Liverpool score.
Let me explain why that score has not destroyed my hope.
So, against Liverpool, conceding five goals is never what you want, but we suffered from the same issues we've had for so long: our inability to defend against balls into the box and giving the opposition so much time with the ball in dangerous positions.
When you watch the goals back, it is the same themes we've seen before - they're unchallenged, giving Liverpool players time to calmly send the ball into the box. Some took a deflection but, ultimately, we let them get too close to the goal without challenging them. Again, this has cost us massively and meant that we weren't in with a shot of winning that game.
But there are positives which make me think there is still hope West Ham stay up.
First of all, we did manage to score two against Liverpool, which in any normal game you'd see as a decent result from an attacking perspective. When you look at the stats, we had 50% possession, we had 10 shots - five of which were on target - we had just four fewer passes than Liverpool and a passing accuracy of 82%.
So, when you look at the stats alone, we did manage to hold our own to some degree and compete, and this is why, despite that scoreline, I do think that West Ham are showing signs we can still outscore the opponents we have coming up. I say outscore because we really do struggle to keep clean sheets.
Up next we've got Fulham, which is going to be a massive test of how we can perform against a mid-table side.
These are the points we need to be getting and I'm hopeful we can get enough goals against them to take home the three points.
Nuno on selling players, Bowen's form and Fulhampublished at 13:56 GMT 2 March
13:56 GMT 2 March
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Fulham at Craven Cottage (kick-off 19:30 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Pablo Felipe is "not yet" ready to return to training after being sidelined with a calf problem, but he is being assessed every day.
Nuno added that "hopefully everyone" else from the squad should be available.
On West Ham announcing they need to sell players this summer even if they avoid relegation: "This is not something we have to think about now. We have a big task on our hands. With the things we have to improve and make happen, every day is about how we prepare ourselves for the matches."
On if he has been watching the games played by other teams involved in this season's relegation battle: "I watch all the games in the Premier League. We focus on ourselves, we didn't achieve a result in our game."
On if he is surprised that Tottenham and Nottingham Forest are currently involved in the battle for safety: "It shows how difficult the Premier League is for all teams. It's the best league in the world, anything is possible in the Premier League."
On if Jarrod Bowen's ambitions for a World Cup spot with England helps West Ham: "Many of our players have goals to join their national teams in the World Cup. It only motivates them and makes them stronger. Jarrod is a talented player. He's been huge for us, he is the club captain and every game he gives his best."
On Fulham: "They are a very good team. Marco Silva is doing an amazing job. You can see that it's a tough team, Alex Iwobi, the goals he scores... So many talented players."
Can Hammers replicate Liverpool positives?published at 11:04 GMT 2 March
11:04 GMT 2 March
Steve Wyeth Final Score reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Having been soundly beaten at a ground where they have won just once in 53 attempts now in the league, West Ham will be grateful it's 'as you were' in the race for Premier League survival. But will they also reflect upon what might have been?
On quality of chances created at Liverpool on Saturday, the 5-2 scoreline was an exaggeration. Indeed West Ham's xG (if you buy into such things) was marginally superior. Nuno Espirito Santo was correct that 3-0 at half-time was an unfair reflection on what we had witnessed. With greater focus at set-pieces and ruthlessness in front of goal West Ham might have further intensified the pressure on Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur immediately above them.
If the Hammers can replicate the way they tested Liverpool's defence against Fulham on Wednesday the picture at the bottom of the Premier League could suddenly look more favourable.
Ian: The time is lonng overdue for Jeremiah Frimpong and Rio Ngumoha to start matches. The team felt more balanced when they were brought on. I cannot understand why tiredness is an issue and why it matters if it was at the beginning or end.
Jon: The result disguises some worrying problems for us defensively. On too many occasions the defence and midfield gave the ball away sloppily. To be 3-0 up and still nervous about them getting one goal to change the game at Anfield is not the Liverpool we have seen in the past. A few sitters missed by some of the team didn't help us and, I must say, what Mohamed Salah has been for us in the past is no more - zero work-rate from him and should have been dragged off the pitch early second half. Take the positives, which are three points and five goals, but against this West Ham team it could have been better.
Rae: A good result, five different goalscorers [one own goal] - which is just as well as Cody Gakpo and Salah are still off form. The main difference, though, is that other players are finding form - Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Milos Kerkez. Lots of work still to do.
Ravi: Top performance from the Reds. We were clinical, and to score five (it should've probably been more!) is always a positive thing. Six in seven now - let's keep the momentum going!
West Ham fans
Richard: I hope the 'Moyes Out' crew at West Ham take a long look at themselves in the mirror. While Everton are chasing Europe, we are chasing survival. Some fans seemed to think we still had Bobby Moore at the club when David Moyes was manager, and even winning the Conference League wasn't enough for them. That was the beginning of the rot and, along with David Sullivan and Karren Brady (who wanted to keep Moyes), the fans who wanted him out have played a part in our downfall.
Neil: If we'd played like that in the first half of the season we'd be challenging for Europe right now... why has it taken half a season?
James: The cliche of ‘the season is not going to be defined by this result’ comes to mind. It was always going to be tough, but West Ham must not let this curtail their previous good form.
Chris: Disappointing they let the game get away from them so quickly and from set-pieces, where we had tightened up so much in recent games. Positives were we took two goals and had plenty of other chances. We also didn't give up, despite the scoreline. I don't think it'll change much, but I hope the goals conceded don't cost us dear at the end of the season.
Gossip: West Ham consider striker Gimenezpublished at 06:59 GMT 2 March
06:59 GMT 2 March
West Ham and Sunderland are interested in 24-year-old Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez, who could be allowed to leave AC Milan. (AS - in Spanish), external
Watch Premier League highlights and analysispublished at 10:41 GMT 1 March
10:41 GMT 1 March
Pundits Alan Shearer and Ashley Williams join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Saturday's Premier League fixtures.
