West Ham United will be looking to secure top spot in Group B of the Europa Conference League when they welcome Silkeborg to the London Stadium on Thursday night.
The Hammers are yet to drop a single point during the group stage, while the visitors have scored 10 goals without reply in their last two group matches.
Match preview
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After failing to come out on top in Premier League away games against Southampton and Liverpool, West Ham returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory at home against Bournemouth on Monday night, albeit in controversial circumstances.
VAR was involved for both goals at the London Stadium with Kurt Zouma's opener on the stroke of half time allowed to stand even though Thilo Kehrer appeared to handle the ball in the build-up. Said Benrahma then sealed the win in second-half stoppage time from the penalty spot after Vladimir Coufal's cross into the area hit the outstretched arm of Jordan Zemura.
While David Moyes and co have climbed up to 10th in the Premier League table, they currently sit at the summit of Group B in the Europa Conference League as one of only two teams in the competition, along with Villarreal, who have a perfect record after four matches.
West Ham booked their place in the knockout rounds last time out courtesy of a 2-1 home win over Anderlecht, and while the Hammers will be confident of securing a sixth successive home win on Thursday, they will be wary of the threat that Silkeborg are likely to pose.
Indeed, Moyes's men had to battle to a 3-2 away victory against the Danish outfit last month, with Manuel Lanzini, Gianluca Scamacca and Craig Dawson all on the scoresheet, but West Ham require just a point on Thursday to guarantee top spot in Group B.
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Competing in European competition for the first time since the 2001-02 UEFA Cup, Silkeborg have made a notable impression in Group B of the Europa Conference League and they remain in contention to qualify for the knockout rounds.
The Danish side have won two of their first four group games, thrashing FCSB 5-0 both home and away, with Sebastian Jorgensen, Kasper Kusk and Anders Klynge scoring twice each across both fixtures.
Head coach Kent Nielsen, who played for Aston Villa between 1989 and 1991, sees his side sitting second in Group B, and a surprise triumph over West Ham on Thursday would be enough to seal their place in the knockout stages if third-placed Anderlecht fail to beat FCSB.
However, Silkeborg will need to improve their form on the road if they wish to succeed in East London, as they have won only four of their last 12 away matches across all competitions. The Danish side suffered defeat in their most recent away game against Horsens, losing 3-2 on Sunday after conceding a 92nd-minute penalty.
Team News
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West Ham duo Craig Dawson and Maxwel Cornet missed the victory over Bournemouth due to respective thigh and calf injuries and they are both doubtful for Thursday's game.
Midfielder Lucas Paqueta remains out with a shoulder problem, while centre-back Nayef Aguerd has returned to first-team training after sustaining an ankle injury over the summer and could feature for the first team next month.
Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola is expected to replace Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks, while the likes of Lanzini, Michail Antonio, Pablo Fornals and Emerson Palmieri, who all began on the substitutes' bench on Monday, are set to be recalled to the first XI.
As for Silkeborg, Mark Brink and Lukas Engel are ruled out with hamstring injuries, while Pelle Mattsson, Gustav Dahl (both head) and Niclas Holm Pedersen (back) are all doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Tobias Salquist was sent off in the defeat over Horsens last weekend, but he is available for Thursday's game and is expected to start again at centre-back alongside Joel Felix.
Kasper Kusk and Soren Tengstedt, who both scored in the reverse fixture against West Ham, will be competing for a place in attack with top scorer Sebastian Jorgensen, who has netted eight times in 18 appearances so far this season.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Johnson, Zouma, Ogbonna; Coufal, Rice, Lanzini, Emerson; Fornals; Bowen, Antonio
Silkeborg possible starting lineup:
Larsen; Sonne, Salquist, Felix, Klitten; Kiynge, Gojani, Thordarson; Jorgensen, Helenius, Kusk
We say: West Ham United 3-1 Silkeborg
An entertaining contest between two attack-minded sides is set to take place at the London Stadium on Thursday, with something riding on this fixture for both teams.
Silkeborg will fancy their chances of breaching West Ham's backline once again, but we can see the Hammers coming away with maximum points and securing top spot in Group B.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
