Monday night sees East London meet West London at the London Stadium as West Ham host Brentford in their FA Cup 5th round meeting, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s men hoping to book their place in the competition’s quarter finals.

In a season in which a matter of weeks ago it felt West Ham were all but dead and buried, recent form has re energised the club and there is now a growing sense of belief that the Hammers will find a way out of the bottom three and preserve their top flight status for another year. The 1-0 win against Fulham last time out was a huge three points and leaves West Ham within touching distance of finally climbing out of the bottom three.

The Hammers now find themselves level on points with Nottingham Forest with only goal difference separating the two sides. They are just a point off Tottenham in 16th and three points off Leeds in 15th. As things stand, the 2-1 FA Cup third round win against QPR in mid January seems to have been a real turning point in the Hammers campaign.

Since that cup victory, Nuno’s men have lost just two of their last ten games in all competitions. West Ham’s defensive solidity has also shown real improvement. Four clean sheets from their last six is quite the turnaround considering it felt like the Hammers could not buy a clean sheet for large parts of the season.

Monday night’s opponents Brentford have caught the entire Premier League by surprise this season. After Thomas Frank’s departure, the West London club opted to replace him with their set piece coach Keith Andrews. The Irishman had coaching experience but no managerial experience prior to his appointment.

These two factors led many expect a challenging campaign for the Bees, fearing they could get drawn into a relegation battle and that Andrews could be one of the league’s first managerial dismissals of the season.

Brentford have proven just about everyone wrong, continuing to show what a well run club they are. Keith Andrews’ side currently sit 7th in the Premier League and are mounting a real push for European football as they find themselves four points behind reigning champions Liverpool.

Star forward Igor Thiago is mounting a push of his own. His phenomenal campaign leading the line for the Bees sees him chasing down Erling Haaland for the golden boot. The Brazilian is the league’s second top goalscorer with 18 goals, breaking the record for the most top flight goals scored by a Brazilian player.

West Ham have shown just how much fighting spirit is left in this group of players in recent weeks. With results on the whole having taken an upturn, confidence is high, but Brentford, who are sitting pretty in the Premier League and continue to defy expectations pose, a tough cup test for the Hammers.

Keith Andrews’ side will arrive in East London full of confidence of their own, making Monday’s cup tie sure to be a fascinating encounter.

For Nuno’s side, progression into the competition’s quarter final stage would not only keep their hopes of a memorable cup run alive and kicking, but further build on the momentum they have started to gather.