West Ham v FK TSC preview: Hammers begin Europa League campaign
Manager David Moyes lamented that “small margins” went against his side in the City defeat, but they were certainly in their favour in the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) final back in June, as a 90th minute winner won them the title and secured their passage to a third successive European group stage.
West Ham have proven to be adept at this level, reaching the semi-finals on their last UEL appearance, the season before UECL glory.
A group containing Olympiacos, Freiburg and Backa Topola certainly represents a challenging draw, so the Hammers will need to lean on their strong home form as they’ve lost just three times on their own soil in 2023 (W9, D3).
Backa Topola are arguably both Group A and the whole tournament’s biggest underdogs, as they enter a European group stage for the first time in club history.
A second-place finish in Serbia last season earned them a Champions League qualifying place, although they were on the end of a humbling 7-1 aggregate defeat to Braga.
The UEL is still a huge accomplishment for Žarko Lazetić’s side, who’ve started the domestic season in imperious fashion by avoiding defeat in their first seven league matches (W6, D1).
A trip to a venue as iconic as the London Stadium is some stage for just their fifth ever game against non-Serbian opposition, but Backa Topola will certainly be confident as they’ve won 14 of their last 17 away matches (L3).
Key battle: West Ham midfielder James Ward-Prowse has directly contributed to a goal in each of his last seven club appearances (G3, A5).
Backa Topola will look to Ifet Djakovac to upstage him - the Serbian has scored all three of his goals this season before half-time.
Hot stat: West Ham are unbeaten in each of their last 15 European matches (W14, D1).
