Having been given the freedom to heavily invest in strengthening his West Ham squad, David Moyes has the tools at his disposal to bid for silverware on both the domestic and European front.
However, their opening group-stage fixture in this tournament was not going to plan for three quarters of the game with FCSB leading at the London Stadium with 21 minutes remaining.
Fortunately for Moyes, Jarrod Bowen, Emersonq Palmieri and Michail Antonioall got on the scoresheet to ensure that West Ham netted three times for the third continental fixture in a row.
Although West Ham’s next Premier League fixture on Sunday has been saved from rescheduling, full focus will be on this match with Moyes inevitably keen to secure progress to the knockout stages as soon as possible.
Despite a mixed campaign thus far, West Ham have four wins from seven games in all competitions, one of their two defeats being in controversial circumstances versus Chelsea.
West Ham are no strangers to facing Danish opposition this season having already played Viborg FF in the playoff round, prevailing 6-1 on aggregate.
As it stands, Viborg are two points clear of Silkeborg in the domestic standings, arguably an indication of the level of opponent that West Ham will be playing on Thursday.
Kent Nielsen’s team have lost five of their last eight matches in all competitions, the most recent of those being away at Anderlecht last week as Fabio Silvascored an 80th-minute spot kick to decide that contest in Belgium.
Links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD Stream 4 HD
On a more positive note, Nielsen witnessed his team return to winning ways at the weekend as they posted a 1-0 victory at home to AGF
Moyes will be toying with the idea of naming a full-strength lineup after the unexpected weekend off due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
However, Tomas Soucek may only make an appearance off the substitutes’ bench due to an ankle injury, and Maxwel Cornetcould have to miss this contest due to a knock.
Aaron Cresswell and Craig Dawson may be deemed fit enough for starts, while Gianluca Scamacca could be preferred to Antonio in attack.
