West Ham will try to put a poor start to the Premier League season behind them on Thursday as they welcome Denmark’s Viborg to the London Stadium for the first leg of their Europa Conference League playoff tie.
Viborg qualified for the Europa Conference League after a seventh-place finish in the Danish Superliga last term. The Danes then went on to qualify for the Europa Conference League preliminary rounds courtesy of a domestic playoff game.
Working whatever the weather 💪🆕 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 | 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻— West Ham United (@WestHam) August 16, 2022
Working whatever the weather 💪🆕 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 | 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻
On paper, West Ham have a far superior squad to the one Viborg possess. Manager David Moyes is likely to play the strongest squad he has available. Moyes will be desperate to get a win to kickstart the Hammers’ campaign.
West Ham failed to score in their two opening games of the season. The Hammers lost 2-0 to Manchester City to start the Premier League campaign. They followed it up with a surprise 1-0 defeat away to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest.
Viborg have played nine games this season in all competitions. They have started well with 7W-0D-2L in all competitions. Although Viborg have started the Europa Conference League well, their wins have come against teams far from West Ham’s strength.
The Greens defeated Suduva 2-0 on aggregate before defeating B36 Torshavn 5-1 on aggregate in the Europa Conference League. Thursday’s clash will be West Ham’s first appearance in the competition this term.
West Ham reached the semifinals of the Europa League in 2021-22 before being beaten by eventual champions Eintracht Frankfurt. The number of games and a lack of squad depth doomed West Ham down the stretch in the Europa League and domestically.
Moyes will be without summer signing Nayef Aguerd due to an ankle injury. Meanwhile, defenders Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson are nearing returns from their respective injuries.
Viborg manager Jacob Friis doesn’t have any new injury issues heading into the game. The club has some exciting players such as Nicolas Burgy and Nils Mortimer. Both arrived in the summer to strengthen the squad. Viborg have nothing to lose and should play without fear.
The fear should actually be in West Ham. They have started the Premier League season well and pressure will increase on Moyes if the Hammers fail to win versus Viborg.
Friis will likely use an attacking 4-3-3 formation with Jay Roy Grot playing through the middle. Moyes will likely favour a 4-2-3-1 formation, which hasn’t resulted in a goal yet this campaign.
Viborg could pull off a shock at the London Stadium with the game ending 1-0 to the Danes.