Reigning Europa Conference League winners West Ham kick off their latest European adventure when they take on FK TSC Backa Topola in the Europa League at the London Stadium on Thursday night.
Despite a rocky 2022/23 season in the Premier League, David Moyes led the Hammers to their first piece of silverware since 1980 as they lifted last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League title, defeating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final thanks to Jarrod Bowen’s match-winning strike in the 90th minute. West Ham United are now set to face Backa Topola in the Europa League on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Europa Conference League victory also secured the East Londoners a spot in this season’s Europa League, a competition in which they fell just short of reaching the final two years ago, falling to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals.
The Hammers come into this game on the back of an impressive start to the Premier League season, collecting ten points from a possible 18, including a remarkable 3-1 victory over high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex. Last time out, though, they fell to a 3-1 defeat when hosting defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
While the Europa League is a step up from last time being the second-tier of European football, the Hammers have been handed a rather favourable start at home against Serbian outfit Backa Topola.
Backa Topola arrive into this encounter at the top of the Serbian Super Liga with six wins from seven, and their most recent league outing saw them thrash Zeleznicar Pancevo 6-3. The visitors were promoted to the top flight for the first time ever in 2018/19 and have made rapid progress since then to secure their first appearance in any European competition.
However, they are set for a baptism of fire here if their showing in the Champions League third qualifying round is anything to go by, where they lost 7-1 on aggregate against Portuguese side Sporting Braga. Backa Topola have recovered from that humbling to win four straight domestic games, but they travel to east London on Thursday with a mountain to climb.
Team News and Tactics
West Ham United
Ready for his first European night under the lights at London Stadium ⚒️ https://t.co/GmCB37sxZw pic.twitter.com/0B9aBWFTe6
— West Ham United (@WestHam) September 19, 2023
Edson Alvarez picked up a knock against Manchester City at the weekend but is expected to make a full recovery in time for West Ham’s UEFA Europa League opener, suggesting it was a matter of fatigue and nothing worse. The Mexican will still be unavailable for the Hammers on Thursday as he is serving a one-match suspension carried over from his former club, Ajax.
Manager David Moyes will make some changes for this contest, as they have a trip to Anfield to worry about on Sunday. And Moyes will want to rest his key players as early as possible, meaning a flying start could be in the offing. Also, he can now rotate without substantially weakening his side following some shrewd-looking investment during the summer transfer window.
Either way, the sensible Scot is unlikely to alter his starting XI too much, with Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse likely to start. The latter has had a hand in five goals in four games since his move, scoring in two of his last three outings. Early signs suggest the 28-year-old could be one of the signings of the season in the Premier League.
This looks like a good opportunity to hand summer signings Mohammed Kudus and Konstantinos Mavropanos full West Ham debuts, while Danny Ings will also be looking to be included from the start up front in place of Michail Antonio. Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Cresswell, and Said Benrahma are others who are pushing to be involved from the off.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Kehrer, Zouma, Mavropanos, Cresswell; Soucek, ; Bowen, Kudus, Benrahma; Ings
Backa Topola
Backa Topola reportedly have a clean bill of health ahead of this UEFA Europa League clash. The away side’s starting lineup should be similar to the one that started the 6-3 victory over Zeleznicar on Saturday.
Milos Pantovic and Milos Vulic both came off the bench to score at the weekend. So, they are pushing for a starting berth at the London Stadium, although it is unlikely that their bright performances will lead to a recall.
However, if head coach Zarko Lazetic opts to play with a more defensive-minded three-man midfield ahead of Petar Stanic, Vulic might be considered. Ifet Djakovac bagged a brace at the weekend but would have to contend with a spot on the bench.
A lot of focus will be placed on defending, with the visitors relying on the back-three of Goran Antonic, Nemanja Stojic, and Dusan Cvetinovic to keep things tight at the back. Jovan Vlalukin and Nemanja Petrovic will continue in their roles out wide, with Veljko Ilic behind them in between the sticks. Milan Radin and Djakovic will form the double-midfield pivot, tasked with keeping track of midfield runners.
Backa Topola’s main goal threat comes from Sasa Jovanovic, who scored ten goals across all competitions last term. The Serbian striker will be partnered up top by fellow countryman Marko Rakonjac, who is currently on loan from Lokomotiv Moscow and has already scored twice in the ongoing season.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Ilic; Antonic, Stojic, Cvetinovic; Vlalukin, Radin, Djakovic, Petrovic; Stanic; Jovanovic, Rakonjac
Key Stats
- West Ham United won a total of 14 games in Europe last season, including qualifiers, the most of any English side in history.
- West Ham have won three of their last four games, two of which were by two goals.
- Backa Topola have suffered two straight losses in matches in Europe, including a 7-1 aggregate defeat to Sporting Braga recently.
- The visitors are playing in their first major European competition in their history.
Player to Watch
Jarrod Bowen
The 26-year-old is the star man at the London Stadium and undoubtedly their most consistent source of goals, having started the season in excellent form for West Ham with three goals and an assist in four Premier League appearances. The four-cap England international likes to come inside from the right wing onto his stronger left foot and can create something out of nothing.
He is also something of a European specialist, having netted nine times in 21 appearances in the Europa and Conference Leagues over the last few seasons. Most importantly, he scored the winner in the Europa Conference League final. With all that in mind, we expect him to get on the scoresheet.
Prediction
West Ham United 3-0, Backa Topola
It is fair to say that West Ham have built up enough European experience to be considered the favourites for this year’s Europa League campaign. David Moyes’s troops developed a handy penchant for getting over the line en route to Europa League glory last season, notably on the way to the semi-final stage, where they hammered the likes of FCSB, AEK Larnaca, and Gent, amongst others.
Their opening-night opponents, Backa Topola, are of similar ilk, or perhaps a lower standard, to the aforementioned sides. So, the Hammers should be able to open with a comfortable win against the Europa League debutants, who are off to a strong start on the domestic circuit. But West Ham represent a sizeable step up in quality, and that should shine through at the London Stadium.
