West Ham lineup vs Backa Topola – West Ham United's European journey continues for the third season in a row on Thursday night, as they entertain Serbian side Backa Topola in their opening UEFA Europa League group game at the London Stadium.
The Hammers won their second-ever major European trophy in the UEFA Europa Conference League last campaign, meaning that they automatically qualified for the Europa League this term.
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Current West Ham stats – No Rice? No problem…
West Ham's unbeaten start to the season came to an end against Manchester City over the weekend, as the reigning Premier League champions won 3-1. Before then, they had impressively beaten the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea, despite selling star player Declan Rice to Arsenal in the summer.
They bought James Ward-Prowse (pictured below) from Southampton and Edson Alvarez from Ajax to cover in midfield in his absence, and the pair have excelled, ranking highly among their team-mates for a number of key metrics, including interceptions, dribbles and pass completion rate.
West Ham lineup vs Backa Topola – Our top three
Although West Ham will no doubt take their opponents seriously, there is more than a fair chance that several fringe names could have a night to remember, so our focus duly switches to the younger crop for this one.
Divin Mubama
18-year-old Mubama has already played six times for the senior team, and has featured in a few Premier League matchday squads this season.
The striker had a taste of European football last term, recording one goal and one assist on West Ham's way to winning the Europa Conference League, and could feature again this campaign if David Moyes chooses to rotate in the group stages as much as he did last season.
Callum Marshall
Marshall, also an 18-year-old striker, will also be looking for potential minutes in the group stages, as Michail Antonio will need to be managed shrewdly, having played in every game so far this term.
The teenager made his senior debut for Northern Ireland in June, and was denied a goal by VAR as Denmark ran out 1-0 winners in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
Oliver Scarles
A defensive midfielder in the mould of Rice, 17-year-old Scarles could also get minutes in the Europa League, having made his only senior appearance against FCSB in the Conference League in the previous campaign.
He has played 68 times for the Irons at youth level, scoring five times and recording an impressive 15 assists in all competitions.
The Final Word
Backa are absolute minnows in European football – they have never qualified for the group stages of a competition before – and so West Ham will be huge favourites at the London Stadium.
However, having played English champions Man City on Saturday, before facing a daunting trip to Anfield to play Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, Moyes is likely to rotate his squad for this fixture.
Mubama is perhaps the most exciting out of the crop, having featured in senior matchday squads in the Premier League, and could cause Backa all sorts of problems.
However, the opposition have won their last four games, albeit against weaker opponents in the Serbian top flight, and will look to prove themselves in what is a momentous occasion for the club and its supporters.
