West Ham United will entertain Silkeborg as they welcome them to London Stadium on Thursday, hoping to secure their fifth straight win in the Europa League group stages. The Hammers recorded a narrow 2-1 win against Anderlecht in their last European contest whereas their visitors earned a splendid 5-0 victory over FCSB.
David Moyes will probably set his team up in a 4-4-2 formation and is expected to make a few changes to his starting XI for this game. Flynn Downes is expected to start on the right flank while Maxwell Cornet makes his return on the left.
4-4-2 West Ham United Predicted XI Vs Silkeborg IF
Defence
Alphonse Areola will operate in between the sticks for the Hammers after shipping in one goal in his last outing against Anderlecht. Kurt Zouma will play alongside Thilo Kehrer at the heart of West Ham’s backline as they look to stop the opposition from scoring throughout the game.
Vladimir Coufal will fill in at right-back while Aaron Cresswell hopes to give a good account of himself as the left-back. Both of them will need to remain compact in defence and get forward to stretch the opposition.
Ben Johnson will be available for selection on the bench as he provides cover for the right-back position.
Midfield
Tomas Soucek will anchor the midfield along with Declan Rice as they look to dominate possession at the centre of the park and engineer some clear-cut chances in the final third.
As mentioned earlier, Maxwell Cornet could start in this midweek contest featuring on the left flank while Flynn Downes makes an appearance on the right.
Both of them will have to carry the creative burden for the East London outfit on the attacking end of the field. They will have to create some decent chances from the wide areas and provide attacking support to the front two.
Manuel Lanzini will have to be content with a spot on the bench as he waits for his chance to shine in the second half if required.
Attack
Michail Antonio will lead the charge for West Ham in the final third. He has to find a way to be more of a threat in front of the opposition goal, the English forward will be eager to get his name on the scoresheet. Jarrod Bowen will form a two-man strike team with Antonio as he looks to create trouble for his opponents in the final third.
Gianluca Scamacca will be named on Moyes’ bench but could come on to influence the game in the latter stages if West Ham are in need of a goal by then.
