West Ham United will host Freiburg as both teams look to secure top spot in the group of the Europa League. Both sides will be keen to win Group A and escape the round of 32. They are already assured spots in the knockout stages.
Preview (West Ham United vs. Freiburg)
In terms of Premier League and European play, David Moyes has gotten used to managing busy schedules. He was unable to account for a stomach ailment that affected his team late last week. That was undoubtedly a part of their 5-0 loss to Fulham. It came just three days after they overcame a halftime deficit to upset Tottenham Hotspur. Thankfully, Moyes and his team can approach this match knowing that they have already advanced.
However, West Ham is playing a competitive game in an attempt to omit two games from their schedule in 2024 and get one step closer to taking home European hardware in consecutive seasons. The East Londoners will be content with a point. Moyes will be hoping for a far better showing than the one they gave against Backa Topola in Serbia. West Ham will need a late goal from Tomas Soucek to win 1-0. On the same day, however, Freiburg was destroying Olympiacos 5-0. They made sure they maintained parity with their next opponents in terms of points.
Due to West Ham’s 2-1 victory against their opponents on the second day of play in Germany, Freiburg needs to win all three games at the London Stadium to surpass their hosts for the top spot in Group A. Freiburg, who now occupy eighth place in the Bundesliga, came into this match in far better form than West Ham. They have won their previous two league games 1-0. These victories came at Mainz 05 and Wolfsburg, and Christian Steich will support his team.
Team News
The stomach sickness described earlier makes it impossible to forecast West Ham’s starting lineup. Moyes will try to select his best team. Edson Alvarez could start in midfield following an illness. Emerson Palmieri and Said Benrahma are also expected to make a comeback at left-back and in the final third. If he recovers from a wrist ailment, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola might take Lukasz Fabianski’s spot in goal. If there are no health concerns, Steich might be ready to start the same lineup that triumphed convincingly over Wolfsburg over the weekend.
Michael Gregoritsch outperformed Junior Adamu, who will stay in the lineup as a replacement, by scoring his sixth goal in just three games. It’s unclear when West Ham’s team will be fully fit again because they had to recuperate from a stomach ailment over the weekend and into this week. Nevertheless, the Hammers should be able to fight their way to a share of the spoils, one that will maintain them in first place, in what we think will be an exciting game.
West Ham United 2 – 2 Freiburg
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