West Ham host SC Freiburg at London Stadium in their concluding Group A clash in 2023-24 UEFA Europa League.
Locked on 12 points apiece, victory would see West Ham or SC Freiburg top the group whilst a draw would be enough for the Hammers.
Team News
Edson Alvarez could return for West Ham after he missed their Premier League defeat at Fulham due to illness.
Alphonse Areola (wrist) could return if fit enough for selection but Michail Antonio (knee) remains absent.
SC Freiburg could welcome back Noah Weibhapt after he missed their Bundesliga win at VfL Wolfsburg due to illness.
Kenneth Schmidt (abdominal), Yannik Keitel (groin), Maximilan Philipp (shoulder), Max Rosenfelder (tendon), Christian Gunter (arm), Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (ACL).
When is Kick-Off?
West Ham host SC Freiburg at London Stadium on Thursday 14 December in a 8pm GMT kick-off, live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- West Ham won their only previous meeting against SC Freiburg by 2-1 away result in October 2023.
- SC Freiburg are visiting West Ham for the first time in all UEFA competitions.
- All four of West Ham’s goals at home in this group have been scored after half-time (W2).
- Four of SC Freiburg’s six away goals in the group have been scored by Vincenzo Grifo (W2).
Prediction
After a lacklustre defeat at Fulham last weekend bereft of creativity, energy and quality, West Ham now need to just put that game behind them because playing two London derbies in three days was always a tough ask fitness wise.
Freiburg meanwhile were outplayed at Wolfsburg but a mixture of resilient defending and clinical finishing saw them through, but they will need to be wary again because West Ham will pose similar challenges but with hopefully higher intensity and an improved attacking flair.
Now if the Hammers do that then they should secure top spot but Freiburg clearly are a resilient team who can cause issues as saw in the reverse fixture, where they dominated but just lacked the end product to convert their chances more unlike West Ham.
A draw therefore feels like a fair result for what is essentially a dead rubber at the top of Group A.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Freiburg
Result: West Ham 2-0 Freiburg
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