Date: Thursday 30th September, 2021
Time: 8:00 pm
Stadium London Stadium
Referee Tobias Stieler (Germany)
Goal Scorer:
Team News
West Ham United
Ryan Fredericks has been ruled out of the contest after picking up an injury against Manchester United in the cup tie last week. In addition, fellow right-back Vladimir Coufal is also a doubt for Thursday’s game, potentially posing an issue to David Moyes. Changes will be expected across the field, but the manager is expected to stick with his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
Alphonse Areola, who did well against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup last midweek, should get a run-out ahead of Lukasz Fabianski in goal for West Ham. With Fredericks out and Coufal a doubt, young Ben Johnson should get the nod at right-back but Aaron Cresswell is expected to hold on to his spot on the left. Craig Dawson and Issa Diop should pair up at the heart of the Hammers’ defence.
The central midfield duo of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek is critical for West Ham’s gameplay and should, thus, be retained in the side against the Austrian outfit. There will, however, be changes in the final third of the pitch, with Manuel Lanzini expected to get a game as the No. 10 from where he will look to provide a goal threat while creating chances for his teammates.
Summer signing Nikola Vlasic ought to get a run-out as well, potentially from the left flank while Andriy Yarmolenko should feature on the right wing, with Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma all being options from the bench. Michail Antonio remains the sole choice to lead the line for Moyes’ side.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Johnson, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Vlasic; Antonio
Rapid Wien
Christopher Dibon, Richard Strebinger, Oliver Strunz and Lion Schuster are all sidelined with injuries for Rapid Wien and will play no part in London on Thursday night. Manager Dietmar Kuhbauer is expected to set his team up in a 4-4-2 formation in front of goalkeeper Paul Gartler, who will be hoping to keep Michail Antonio & co. away.
Leo Greiml and Maximilian Hofmann will form the centre-back partnership who will have their hands full containing the pace and power of Antonio while Maximilian Ullmann ought to line up at left-back, where Andriy Yarmolenko could make life difficult for him. Filip Stojkovic should start at right-back for the visitors.
Emanuel Aiwu and Srdjan Grahovac ought to line up in the midfield pivot positions. The duo should largely stay deep and play behind the ball to try and keep West Ham at bay while trying to release the two wingers, Kelvin Arase and Marco Grull, to try and exploit the Hammers on the break.
Ercan Kara and Taxiarchis Fountas should form the strike-partnership for the Austrian giants.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Gartler; Stojkovic, Greiml, Hofmann, Ullmann; Arase, Aiwu, Grahovac, Grull; Kara, Fountas
Prediction: West Ham United 2-0 Rapid Wien
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