That 1-0 win means the Hammers have finally reached a Premier League (PL) points total that would have ensured survival in ten of the last 11 seasons, just in time to fully focus on reaching a UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) final at the expense of AZ Alkmaar!
A return to UECL action may not faze the Irons, who became the first club in the competition’s short history to pick up maximum points in a group stage this season.
Moyes will hope lessons were learned after crashing out at this stage against eventual winners Frankfurt last season, yet a 17-goal haul from six UECL home games this campaign (W6) gives cause for tentative expectation.
Looking to dash that hope are perennial European underdogs AZ, with the senior side perhaps taking inspiration from the young AZ crop who won the UEFA Youth League last month!
The future may be bright, but the European past is not, as AZ have lost all of their six previous trips to England whilst conceding at least four times in each of their last three short jaunts across the North Sea.
There’s a strong case to be made for the Cheese Heads to buck that trend after a rock-solid run of over six hours of competitive play since conceding their last goal.
That run includes part of a comeback victory in their quarter-final second leg (3-0 AET) and was bookended by holding Champions League calibre Ajax to a goalless draw to maintain their hopes of recording a top-three finish in the Eredivisie.
Players to watch: Tomáš Souček knows that a strong start will further his ambition of returning to former club Slavia Praha’s Eden Aréna for the final against Fiorentina or Basel.
The imposing Czech midfielder is used to doing just that after hitting West Ham’s opener with seven of his last eight strikes!
Trying to outdo him will be AZ’s Vangelis Pavlidis, the talented Greek forward who has scored nine goals across seven European victories this season.
Hot streak: AZ haven’t played out a stalemate in UECL away games this season (W5, L3).
