One half of David Moyes's West Ham United squad will travel to Boreham Wood for a friendly encounter on Tuesday afternoon.
The Hammers have already beaten Servette 2-0 this summer, while the National League hosts lost to Brentford by the same scoreline.
Match preview
© Reuters
For the seventh season running, Boreham Wood prepare for another stint in the National League under Luke Garrard, and the fifth-tier outfit have already experienced a taste of Premier League opposition ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Boreham Wood were certainly not humiliated by Brentford, but Bryan Mbeumo and Josh Dasilva were on target for Thomas Frank's side to hand the Bees a comfortable success at Meadow Park.
Garrard's side sure are getting the difficult fixtures out of the way early, as following their clash with West Ham, the National League side will battle Hitchin Town, Dartford and Potters Bar Town before another opportunity to reach the Football League beckons.
The hosts were forced to accept a ninth-placed standing in the 2021-22 season and managed to hold West Ham to a 1-1 draw during a 2012 friendly with the capital club, but the home faithful will not know what to expect from the Hammers' XI until the players emerge from the tunnel.
© Reuters
A healthy mix of youth and experience should step foot onto the turf in claret and blue this week, as one half of Moyes's side clash with Boreham Wood while the other tackle League One side Ipswich Town at the same time on Tuesday.
The Hammers sent a largely senior XI onto the field against Swiss outlet Servette for their first friendly of the summer, but it was a pair of young prospects who got them over the line in a 2-0 win, as Aji Alese and Divin Mubama found the back of the net.
After suffering Europa League heartache in the 2021-22 campaign, West Ham will be forced to try to go all the way in the Europa Conference League over the next several months, and the exhibition matches are coming thick and fast for the capital club.
Reading, Rangers, Luton Town and Lens are lying in wait for West Ham away from their London home in the coming weeks, and one can potentially expect Moyes to send more of his youngsters to Meadow Park rather than Portman Road given the calibre of the respective oppositions.
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Boreham Wood manager Garrard did not hesitate to make a raft of half-time changes against Brentford last time out, and everyone in the hosts' ranks will hope to test themselves against European opposition here.
Former Premier League striker Nile Ranger was not involved for Boreham Wood against the Bees, as three new centre-forwards in Danny Elliott, Danny Newton and Lee Ndlovu made their bows for the fifth-tier side.
Mark Ricketts ought to captain Boreham Wood from the engine room, as fellow new signing Dion Kelly-Evans starts on the right-hand side of the backline.
As for West Ham, Moyes expects to have his international crop back in training on Monday, which includes Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and new signing Nayef Aguerd.
Angelo Ogbonna was in the squad for the win over Servette following his knee surgery, but the Italian centre-back did not take to the field in Switzerland.
Ogbonna should earn some minutes here and there before the new Premier League season kicks off, as Lukasz Fabianski and Alphonse Areola prepare to renew their rivalry in between the posts.
We say: Boreham Wood 0-3 West Ham United
With no indication as to which West Ham players will be travelling to Meadow Park, it would take a brave soul to confidently predict the outcome of this friendly.
However, one can expect some household names to make the journey to face Boreham Wood, whose new-look attack should not do much damage to Moyes's backline.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
