Preview
TSC Backa Topola will get a taste of the group stage of a European competition. They didn’t succeed against Braga in the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League, losing twice (3-0 away, 1-4 home), but automatically entered in the Europa League groups. With a 1-1-2 overall record in Europe, they clearly don’t have high hopes, since they will find three clearly superior teams in front of them. To finish in last place is something that will not surprise anyone. However, in the Serbian league, they are “running” a 6-1-0 streak (18-6 goals), but simply they are 3-4 classes under the West Ham team. Key defender Josip Calusic (5/0) is out due to injury.
West Ham is the holder of the Conference League title. They beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the final and got the “ticket” directly to the Europa League groups. At the start of the season, they appear to have improved in the Premier league, although they were “landed” by Manchester City on Saturday, losing 1-3 at home. This was the first defeat of the year, after 3 consecutive victories.
Conference League holders West Ham will be looking to clean up the game early and then do some maintenance as a hard trip to Anfield follows in the Premier League.