David Moyes makes nine changes to West Ham side ahead of Leeds United encounter and major distraction

The Hammers are six points above the drop-zone with a favourable goal difference compared to sides below them as their domestic campaign draws to a close. Leeds visit the London Stadium next weekend in what will be an enormous fixture for the Whites’ chances of securing Premier League survival.

Ahead of that game, West Ham are in action at the Gtech Community Stadium in West London, where they face Brentford. Experienced coach Moyes decided to make nine changes to his starting XI with a UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final second leg away to AZ Alkmaar to contend with this coming Thursday.

The likelihood of West Ham suffering relegation is now minimal, while the club is on the verge of a first European final, if they can avoid defeat against the Dutch side in their Conference League encounter. The Hammers came from behind on Thursday to beat AZ 2-1 at the London Stadium and will travel to the Netherlands in midweek to potentially secure a place in the competition finale.

Leeds arrive in East London on Sunday for a 1:30pm kick-off versus Moyes’ men, pitting Sam Allardyce against yet another of his former clubs.

Moyes' team selection at Brentford saw talismanic midfielder Declan Rice dropped to the bench for a Premier League game for the first time since 2018, while star striker Michail Antonio was left out the squad entirely with a reported calf injury.

First-team staples Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen, Kurt Zouma and Lucas Paqueta were also named on the bench against the Bees.