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West Ham continue their Europa League campaign tonight as they host Olympiacos in the Europa League clash at the London Stadium, marking the Greek side’s seventh visit to England in the last five seasons.
But this one should be more on the revenge side for the hosts… David Moyes has effectively transformed the Hammers into a seasoned European squad owing much to their success in the Conference League in the last season, although their 17-match undefeated run in Europe came to an end last month with a 2-1 setback in Greece. Although when you’d open the group, West Ham still leads in Group A but they are on points with Freiburg.
While Olympiacos are a couple of points behind the top two, Diego Martinez shall definitely come into the fixture looking for a positive result.
West Ham will look to get back to winning ways after what was a thriller but ended up in defeat at the hands of Thomas Frank‘s Brentford at the weekend.
When & Where?
Date: 9th November, 2023.
Location: London Stadium.
Kickoff Time: 20:00 GMT.
Match Officials
Main Referee: Matej Jug SVN.
Assistant referees: Matej Žunič SVN, Manuel Vidali SVN.
Fourth official: Asmir Sagrković SVN.
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER.
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Ivan Bebek CRO.
Team News
West Ham’s Kurt Zouma might return after missing the weekend’s game against Brentford, although he is still suffering from knee issues following that Carabao Cup game against Arsenal. Lucas Paqueta and Edson Alvarez are available again after serving suspensions.
West Ham boss David Moyes spoke at his pre-match press conference about Zouma and his potential availability: “We’re still waiting on Kurt. He didn’t train [with the main group] this morning. He’s done a bit inside and we’ll have a look tomorrow and see how he is.”
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski is expected to return in goal, following Areola taking over his spot between the woodworks in the Premier League. These are the opportunities Lukasz needs to capitalise on if he wants to get back into the starting eleven.
Olympiacos can welcome back Andreas Ntoi, who missed the reverse fixture due to a suspension. However, they have several players out due to injuries for the visitors, including Athanasios Androutsos and loanee Nicolas Freire.
Match Analysis
West Ham’s recent form has been concerning, losing four of their last five games, including a 2-1 defeat to Olympiacos in the reverse fixture, as stated earlier. Defensive issues have seen them concede 11 goals in this period, dropping to 12th in the Premier League.
Olympiacos, despite a recent humiliating defeat to Panathinaikos, will enter the game with confidence following their win over West Ham in Greece. They have a commendable record in the English capital, winning on their last two trips against Arsenal in the Europa League.
It will be interesting how David Moyes approaches this one, does he wait on the back foot and capitalise on transitions and work Olympiacos to break them down or he tries to take the game to them.
Key Players
Mo Kudus:
Kudus was expected to become an integral figure in Moyes’ setup and he has become exactly that after having scored in both of the last two games after playing from the right. Now Bowen generally starts on that right flank, but Moyes’ recently indicated that he might be about to change those dynamics. In the game against Arsenal, Bowen played on the right in-front of Kudus but a bit narrower while the English man started as a striker at the weekend against Brentford.
This means we should see Kudus on the right more and more…
Daniel Podence:
All the Premier League fans would be well accustomed to Podence and everything he is about; From change of pace to dribbling with ball kissing his feet – he is a package that can cause problems with a low centre of gravity.
Predicted Lineups:
West Ham predicted lineup vs Olympiacos: Fabianski; Kehrer, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Cresswell; Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Lucas Paqueta; Kudus, Bowen, Benrahma.
Olympiacos predicted lineup vs West Ham: Paschalakis; Rodinei, Porozo, Retsos, Ortega; Alexandropoulos, Camara, Hezze; Podence, Jovetic, Fortounis.
Prediction
West Ham United 2-1 Olympiacos – All of past three meetings between the pair have produced over 2.5 goals, with the hosts outscoring the visitors 7-4 in these games but we expect a decent scoring game despite West Ham’s recent struggles and a previous loss to Olympiacos, the home advantage is expected to play a crucial role in turning the tide and securing a win for the Hammers
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