West Ham targets UEFA Europa Conference League place

West Ham United will be hoping to make the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League when they travel to Denmark on Thursday to face Viborg in the second leg of their qualifying series.

The Hammers defeated their visitors 3-1 in London courtesy of Gianluca Scamacca’s first goal for the club since joining from Sassuolo, while Jarrod Bowen and Michael Antonio were on target.

The Hammers are still without a win in the Premier League after losing to Brighton at the weekend. West Ham has been dealt with injury problems and suspensions, especially for the first leg win.

The Premier League side was without David Moyes on the sidelines and Declan Rice, who were suspended as well as some other players.

However, whiles some of them will be available for the return leg in Denmark, the duo of Angelo Ogbonna and Vladimir Coufal are unavailable due to injuries.

Vladimir Coufal is being excused due to concussions, while Ogbonna is having fitness issues after missing the league game at the weekend. The defender was injured last November, and the first leg of this fixture was his first since then.

West Ham United manager David Moyes has revealed that the player was rushed back into action.

“I think he probably needed another three or four weeks of training and some games, but we needed him; he’s not fully ready yet, but we felt the game last week was a good one for him to get back in amongst it. We’re glad to have him back. He’s really important for his experience and his know-how of the game. He’s been here seven years now, and he is very experienced for the club.” Moyes said.

Meanwhile, the draws for the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League season will be made on Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey, after Copenhagen, Rangers, Viktoria Plzen, Maccabi Haifa, Benfica, and Dinamo Zagreb qualified.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu