Jonty Colman, West Ham United writer for football.london, previews Brentford’s FA Cup third-round tie against the Hammers.

West Ham United went into the World Cup break following three defeats and returned with a fourth against Arsenal, which means they are down in 16th at the time of speaking. What have you made of what you've seen so far?

A lot of the games where West Ham have looked at their best, they haven't won.

There was a run from the end of August to the start of September where they beat Aston Villa away, got their first points of the season and didn't look great but did a job.

They then played Tottenham at home a few days later and came from behind to earn a point, but could very easily have got a late winner, given their chances.

They then went to Chelsea the following weekend and were absolutely robbed of point; they went 1-0 up, Chelsea scored two late goals and then, in stoppage-time, Maxwel Cornet scored a perfectly good equaliser, but somehow it got ruled out.

They did start October quite well, with back-to-back wins, and it did look as though they were turning the season around, but since then, they have only picked up four points from a possible 21.

Their main issues have come up front; Said Benrahma is the only player to have scored more than two league goals as we speak.

The defensive record hasn't actually been that bad and they haven't yet lost by more than a two-goal margin, but the issue is that they lost 10 of their first 16 games in the Premier League, which, for a side hoping to get back into Europe, has been quite disastrous in some ways.

Do you think David Moyes is under much pressure given the Hammers' form?

He is under a little bit of pressure, but what he has on his side is the fact that the club backed him to spend a lot of money in the summer because of the success of the last couple of seasons; they trust him and I think they are right to do so.

A lot of those players haven't been fit or have taken time to get up to speed so, really, they've only had a couple of months, especially with the World Cup break, and it has disrupted their flow.

Had Moyes not had such success prior to this period, he would be under a lot more pressure than he currently is.

I think the fans need a bit of convicing, but West Ham do have a kind run coming up, on paper at least, so it’s key that they make the most of it - they need wins fast.

West Ham have reached the FA Cup fifth round in each of the last two seasons. How eager do you think they will be to reach that stage again, given their league form?

It's an interesting one actually because, at the start of the season, Moyes did allude to the fact he wanted to do better in the domestic cup competitions; last season it was fifth round of the FA Cup and quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

I think there's going to be a bit of dilemma in Moyes' mind because he has said he wants to do well in the cups, but West Ham are already out of the Carabao Cup and, considering their league form, this is one of their best avenues to get into Europe.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

Obviously, I'd say Declan Rice is one. During a season in which West Ham's high-profile players have underperformed so far, he has been the one constant. Even when they play badly, Rice seems the obvious choice for man of the match. He runs his socks off constantly and has the best long passing accuracy in the Premier League by some distance. He's quite different to the Rice you see playing for England as he has a lot more freedom to be creative.

Another one I'd say is Jarrod Bowen. He scored 18 goals last season, but he has not been the same player this season. He probably didn't deserve the World Cup place he could have had and I think that was the right call from Gareth Southgate. He has scored five goals this season, though three of them have been in the Europa Conference League, and he has really been off his game in front of goal in the Premier League, though one positive is that he had a really good run in the mid-season friendlies and scored a really good goal against Cambridge. If he keeps that form up, he really could be one to watch.

How is Moyes likely to set up for this one?

Formation-wise, it has been a 4-3-3 in the Premier League.

In the Europa Conference League, though, he has sometimes gone to a back three because a lot of players he has rotated in have been defenders, so to try and fit them all in, he has been playing a 3-4-2-1, with two narrow forwards off a striker. So, that could be possible.

In terms of rotation, because it's Brentford and not a lower-league team, I think you're likely to see Moyes go fairly strong.

What's your score prediction?

I'm going to say it'll finish 1-1 and go to a replay.