West Ham go in search of their first piece of European silverware since the 1964/65 season when they take on Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday.
The Hammers, 10/11 To Win Outright, have played 14 games in this season's tournament, winning 13 and drawing the other during their dream run to the final in Prague.
After falling in the semi-finals of last season's Europa League, experience is on their side, as David Moyes targets his team's first piece of major silverware since 1980, and their second European crown after their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph of 58 years ago.
What | Fiorentina v West Ham |
Where | Fortuna Arena, Prague |
When | 20:00, Wednesday 7th June |
How to watch | BT Sport YouTube, BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate |
Odds (Full Time Result) | Fiorentina 7/4, Draw 21/10, West Ham 7/4 |
Date | Round | Opponent | Scoreline | Venue |
18/08/2022 | Play-off | Viborg | 3-1 | London Stadium, Stratford |
25/08/2022 | Play-off | Viborg | 0-3 (6-1 Agg) | Energi Viborg Arena, Viborg |
After their march to the last four of the 2021/22 edition of Europe's second-tier competition, a drop down in quality meant the pressure was on the Hammers, with them priced among the market leaders from the outset.
Moyes again used Thursday night football to rotate and his fringe stars impressed in dismissing Danish outfit Viborg in the play-off round.
Summer signing Gianluca Scamacca, ruled out of Wednesday's game with a knee injury, scored both home and away as the Hammers won 3-1 at the London Stadium before backing it up with a 3-0 success in Jutland to book their place in the draw for the pool stages with a 6-1 aggregate victory.
Date | Round | Opponent | Scoreline | Venue |
08/09/2022 | Group B | FCSB | 3-1 | London Stadium, Stratford |
15/09/2022 | Group B | Silkeborg | 2-3 | JYSK Park, Silkeborg |
06/10/2022 | Group B | Anderlecht | 0-1 | Lotto Park, Brussels |
13/10/2022 | Group B | Anderlecht | 2-1 | London Stadium, Stratford |
27/10/2022 | Group B | Silkeborg | 1-0 | London Stadium, Stratford |
03/11/2022 | Group B | FCSB | 0-3 | Arena, Nationala, Bucharest |
West Ham were drawn in Group B alongside Anderlecht, to whom they lost in the final of the 1976 Cup Winners' Cup, another Danish outfit in Silkeborg and Romanian giants FCSB.
An opening 3-1 win over FCSB set them on their way to a perfect six out of six wins in the group stages, making them the first club to achieve that feat in the tournament's two seasons.
They concluded their journey through the pools with a 3-0 victory in the Romanian capital, having also beaten both Silkeborg (3-2 (A) and 1-0 (H)) and Anderlecht (1-0 (A) and 2-1 (H)).
Date | Round | Opponent | Scoreline | Venue |
09/03/2023 | Round of 16 | AEK Larnaca | 0-2 | AEK Arena - George Karapatakis, Larnaca |
16/03/2023 | Round of 16 | AEK Larnaca | 4-0 (6-0 Agg) | London Stadium, Stratford |
13/04/2023 | Quarter-finals | Gent | 1-1 | Ghelamco Arena, Gent |
20/04/2023 | Quarter-finals | Gent | 4-1 (5-2 Agg) | London Stadium, Stratford |
After qualifying as top seeds, Moyes' men avoided a play-off and went straight into the Round of 16, where they faced Cypriot outfit AEK Larnaca who had beaten Dnipro-1 after dropping down from the Europa League.
A Michail Antonio double secured a 2-0 win in Cyprus before a Jarrod Bowen brace contributed to a 4-0 win in Stratford and secured a 6-0 aggregate victory and a quarter-final clash with Gent.
The Belgians were arguably the better side in the first leg at the Ghelamco Arena but Danny Ings, 9/4 Anytime, put West Ham ahead before Hugo Cuypers deservedly equalised.
Cuypers broke the deadlock for De Buffalos at the London Stadium, but the hosts showed spirit as another Antonio brace helped them to a 4-1 win on the night, sealing a 5-2 aggregate success and the 33-year-old is 20/1 to score 2 or More.
Date | Round | Opponent | Scoreline | Venue |
11/05/2023 | Semi-finals | AZ Alkmaar | 2-1 | London Stadium, Stratford |
18/05/2023 | Semi-finals | AZ Alkmaar | 0-1 (3-1 Agg) | AFAS Stadion, Alkmaar |
After last season's Europa League semi-final exit to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt, the Hammers' squad will have been desperate to avoid a similar fate in the Conference League and looked nervous during the opening stages of their semi-final first-leg against AZ Alkmaar.
The Dutch club, buoyed from a 0-0 draw at Ajax, zipped the ball around in Stratford and led 1-0 at the interval thanks to Tijjani Reijnders' low shot four minutes before the break.
West Ham received a slice of luck when awarded a penalty when AZ goalkeeper Mat Ryan clumsily challenged Bowen, 3/1 Anytime, in the box and Said Benrahma, 3/1 Anytime, calmly converted before Antonio bundled home the winner.
A 2-1 scoreline looked precarious as the Hammers headed to North Holland and the intimidating atmosphere offered by the AFAS Stadion.
AZ again dominated the ball, but Moyes set his side up to defend but central defenders Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd dealt with almost everything thrown at them.
Meanwhile, after being at fault for Reijnders' strike in Stratford, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola made a handful of crucial saves and also used his experience to take the sting out of the game when called upon.
With AZ out of ideas, substitute Pablo Fornals sent the travelling supporters into celebration in stoppage time, winning the ball in midfield, dancing past Jordy Clasie and then firing a low effort beyond Ryan and into the bottom corner.
Fornals' goal completed a 3-1 aggregate success and saw his side into their first European final in 47 years and the Spaniard is 12/1 to score last in Prague.
They will now face Fiorentina, 10/11 To Win Outright, who lifted the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1960/61.
The Viola finished second in Group A behind Istanbul Basaksehir before beating Braga, Sivasspor, Lech Poznan and Basel to book their tickets to Wednesday's match at Prague's Fortuna Arena.
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