(Football news) Both sides will be keen to win Group A and escape the round of 32, even if they are already assured spots in the knockout stages.
In terms of Premier League and European play, David Moyes has gotten used to managing busy schedules in recent years, but he was unable to account for a stomach ailment that affected his team late last week.
That was undoubtedly a part in their 5-0 loss to Fulham, which came just three days after they overcame a halftime deficit to upset Tottenham Hotspur away.
Thankfully, Moyes and his team can approach this match knowing that they have already advanced to at least the round of 32, which relieves some of the burden.
However, West Ham is playing for a competitive game in an attempt to omit two games from their schedule in 2024 and get one step closer to taking home European hardware in consecutive seasons.
The East Londoners will be satisfied with a draw, but Moyes will be hoping for a far better showing than the one they saw against Backa Topola in Serbia, where West Ham needed a late goal from Tomas Soucek to win 1-0.
On the same day, however, Freiburg was destroying Olympiacos 5-0, making sure they maintained parity with their next opponents in terms of points.
Due to West Ham’s 2-1 victory against their opponents on the second day of play in Germany, Freiburg needs to win all three games at the London Stadium in order to surpass their hosts for the top spot in Group A.
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