West Ham United v Silkeborg IF
UEFA Europa Conference League Group B, London Stadium, Thursday 27 October, 8pm BST
West Ham United host their third and final UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) Group B tie on Thursday evening, when Danish side Silkeborg IF will be the visitors.
David Moyes' Hammers need just a point to confirm top spot and direct passage to the round of 16 in March next year, while SIF know only a victory will keep their hopes of pipping the Irons to first place alive.
West Ham have four wins from four Group B matches played, having defeated FCSB (3-1) at London Stadium and Silkeborg (3-2) in Denmark in September, then scored away (1-0) and home (2-1) victories over Belgian opponents RSC Anderlecht earlier this month.
All in, Moyes' side have won all six European ties they have played this season, having defeated Silkeborg's Superliga rivals Viborg FF 6-1 on aggregate in the play-off round to reach the group stage.
Here is all the essential information for you ahead of Thursday's game...
Tickets...
Tickets for Thursday's tie are now on General Sale!
With tickets starting at just £24 and £15 respectively for Adults and Juniors respectively, you can bring all the family to east London for a special half-term holiday night under the lights.
Do not miss out! Get your tickets now by clicking here, calling us on 0333 030 1966 or visiting us in person at the London Stadium Ticket Office.
How To Follow…
Thursday's tie will be broadcast live in the UK by BT Sport 2. More information on how to watch can be found by clicking here.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Match information…
There will be goal-line technology in operation at London Stadium this evening, but there is no VAR in the UECL this season.
Each manager can name up to 12 substitutes, of whom five can be used on three occasions (plus half-time). There are no additional ‘concussion substitutes’ available in UEFA Club Competition.
If a player receives three cautions during the group stage, he will be required to serve a one-match suspension. Aaron Cresswell, Flynn Downes and Angelo Ogbonna have each received two cautions so far, while seven players have received one.
The 2022/23 UECL final will be hosted at Slavia Prague’s Fortuna Arena in the Czech Republic on 7 June next year.
Travel...
There is no engineering work planned on any London Underground lines, but Elizabeth line services between Paddington and Abbey Wood only operate until 11pm.
On London Overground, there will be no westbound service from Camden Road to Willesden Junction after 11.45pm. Trains at 11.59pm and 00.15am from Stratford will terminate at Camden Road. Please use local London Buses connections.
Supporters are advised to check their journeys before travel, with resources such as TfL's Journey Planner or the TfL Go app helping to plan your journey.
On c2c rail, due to Network Rail undertaking maintenance work, from 10.20pm the line between Stanford-le-Hope and Pitsea will be closed. Services will start/terminate from Stanford-le-Hope. Rail replacement bus services will operate between Stanford-le-Hope and Pitsea.
Team News...
West Ham United could give Nayef Aguerd a competitive debut after the Morocco centre-back returned to training after recovering from the ankle injury he suffered at Rangers in pre-season.
For Silkeborg IF, midfielder Mark Brink and right-back Oliver Sonne are both out with hamstring injuries. Both players started the first meeting in Denmark in September.
Teenage midfielder Niclas Holm Pedersen is still out with back problems, while midfielder Gustav Dahl has a head injury and will not be involved.
Left-back Lukas Engel and midfielder Pelle Mattsson have recovered from hamstring and head injuries respectively and have traveled as part of Kent Nielsen's 23-man squad.
Official Programme...
West Ham United's 116-page Official Programme for Thurday's UECL Group B tie with Silkeborg IF is on sale now.
The issue features exclusive interviews with Conor Coventry, former West Ham and Denmark defender Marc Rieper and his former teammate and Academy of Football coach Steve Potts and columns penned by manager David Moyes and captain Declan Rice.
The Irons' Official Programme is available to order online now for just £4, plus £1.49 postage and packaging*.
Copies will be sent via first-class post. Full-season subscriptions are also available, including all Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup home issues, from just £119, from the Club's official West Ham Programmes shop.
The Opposition...
Silkeborg IF could be in the middle of the best season in their history.
Although our visitors have been crowned champions of Denmark and Danish Cup winners once each in their 105-year existence, they had never previously qualified for the group stage of a European competition.
This season, not only have SIF done that, but they are in with a strong chance of going through to the post-Christmas knockout stages of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
That scenario looked unlikely when Kent Neilsen’s side were edged out in Belgium by RSC Anderlecht (0-1) and at home by West Ham United (2-3) on Matchdays One and Two, but the Danes have bounced back in sensational fashion, thrashing Romanians FCSB by identical 5-0 scorelines home and away.
Those results saw Silkeborg climb to second in Group B, two points ahead of Anderlecht, with a stunning +8 goal difference. Whatever happens at London Stadium this evening, a win at home to Anderlecht on Matchday Six will guarantee SIF a place in the knockout play-off round.
Of course, you might ask why that would justify calling this the best season in Silkeborg’s history, and rightly so.
Well, Neilsen’s team are also flying high in fourth place in the Danish Superliga, ahead of the country’s traditional football powers FC Copenhagen, Brøndby IF and their local rivals FC Midtjylland. With the top six going through to the Championship Round and two spots in next season’s UEFA Champions League qualifiers up for grabs, SIF are well placed, despite a last-minute defeat at Randers at the weekend.
Silkeborg are still in the Danish Cup too, having won 3-0 at second tier Næstved BK to reach the last-16.
So, former Aston Villa defender Neilsen will hope to guide Silkeborg to a success as unlikely as the one he celebrated as part of Denmark’s UEFA European Championship-winning squad in 1992.
Back then, the Scandinavians were included as late replacements for Yugoslavia after the latter was engulfed by the civil war that eventually led to the break-up of the Balkans. And Neilsen was a central member of Richard Møller Nielsen’s side, starting four of Denmark’s five matches, including the 2-0 victory over the newly unified Germany in the final.
Thirty years on from that historic success in Stockholm, the 60-year-old is making his mark again, and could repeat the domestic double he led Aalborg BK to in 2013/14.
Should he do so, that achievement would surely outdo the Superliga title SIF won in 1993/94, the UEFA Intertoto Cup the club lifted in 1996, and the Danish Cup they secured in 2001.
And for a club representing a town with a population of less than 50,000 and an average home attendance of under 8,000, it would most definitely represent the best season in Silkeborg’s history!
Previous Meetings...
While Thursday’s UEFA Europa Conference League Group B tie with Silkeborg IF represents just West Ham United’s second-ever competitive meeting with Danish opposition, plenty of historical connections between the Hammers and the Scandinavian country exist.
The first, of course, was the Irons’ 6-1 aggregate victory over Silkeborg’s Superliga rivals Viborg FF in the play-off round of this season’s Conference League in August.
Gianluca Scamacca, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio scored in a 3-1 win at London Stadium, with Jakob Bonde Jensen netting for Viborg. Scamacca, Saïd Benrahma and Tomáš Souček then scored in front of a capacity crowd at Viborg Arena a week later to seal David Moyes’ side’s progression.
And West Ham then scored a 3-2 victory in the reverse Group B tie at Silkeborg’s JYSK park on 15 September. Scamacca scored again, but not before Kasper Kusk had put the Danes in front. Manuel Lanzini’s penalty and a Craig Dawson header made it 3-1 before half-time. Søren Tengstedt’s goal set up a tense finish, but the Londoners held on to win.
Match Officials...
Referee: Joni Hyytiä
Assistants: Sami Nykänen & Veli-Matti Leppänen
Fourth official: Antti Munukka
Thursday's match officials hail from Finland, led by referee Joni Hyytiä, assisted by Sami Nykänen and Veli-Matti Leppänen and fourth official Antti Munukka.
The 34-year-old Hyytiä has taken charge of matches across Europe, including UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers, international friendlies and dozens of Finnish league and cup matches.
