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Beesotted contributor Jacob ‘The Gowler’ Gowler (@BeesBreakdown) gives us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s win against West Ham.

Thomas Frank chose a 4-2-3-1 to face West Ham. Ajer returned to the Bees backline to join Collins, van den Berg, and Lewis-Potter. Janelt and Nørgaard formed Brentford’s double pivot with Damsgaard in the number 10 role. The typical front three of Schade, Wissa, and Mbeumo looked to continue their success up front with 31 goals between them in the Premier League so far this season.

Graham Potter’s West Ham side matched up in a 4-2-3-1 with Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, and Emerson on the backline. Alvarez and Soucek started as the double pivot with Kudus the advanced midfielder. Bowen and Soler deployed on the wings with Paqueta the striker up top. Potter’s bench stacked some young talent with Ferguson, Guilherme, and Oliver Scarles looking to make an impact.

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A tale of two halves, with Brentford seemingly dominating the first half and Potter’s adjustments helping them create more chances in the second half. Brentford recorded 1.46 xG in the first half but only recorded 0.20 in the second half. Similarly, West Ham only created 0.17 xG in the first half, but 0.65 xG in the second.

In the first half, Brentford easily progressed the ball, found 1v1 matchups on the backline, and found success out-of-possession. West Ham’s narrow positioning allowed Brentford to progress the ball unchallenged on the wing, and Paqueta playing out of position helped limit his effectiveness.

Graham Potter’s adjustments made it more difficult for Brentford to build out of the back, with the Bees starting to launch it long. Adding a target man allowed Paqueta to drop in during buildup and completely changed Brentford’s positioning out-of-possession with Mbeumo forced to drop deeper.

Still, the adjustments limited the transitional moments Brentford had to defend, and West Ham had difficulty breaking down Brentford’s defence. The Bees held on to the three points to secure their third consecutive away win of the season.