There are three places up for grabs in David Moyes’s West Ham Europa Conference League final starting XI in my opinion.
West Ham United face Serie A side Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final out in Prague on June 7th.
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Despite the Hammers’ struggles in the Premier League this season, David Moyes has overseen a tremendous Conference League campaign, and if we finish up with a trophy, it will go down in history as a successful campaign
UEFA’s policy is to give 20% of the stadium’s capacity to both clubs participating in the final.
That is obviously not ideal, but there are far more important things to worry about, especially for Moyes. Which XI will he select on the night? In my opinion, eight names pick themselves, whilst there are three places up for grabs…
The three places up for grabs in David Moyes’s West Ham Europa Conference League final starting XI
In my opinion, the only positions where Moyes will not have made his mind up on yet are right-back, left sided centre-back and left wing…
Vladimir Coufal or Thilo Kehrer
The 30-year-old returned to somewhere near his best form after the turn of the year. However, he unfortunately suffered a minor hamstring injury a few weeks ago. Since then, Kehrer came into the side and deputised for the Czech Republic international with aplomb. The German has been so impressive that it would be incredibly harsh to drop him for the final. Having said that, Coufal is the more solid operator out of the two, and the fact that the game is being played in his former club’s stadium means he should be more than comfortable with his surroundings.
Nayef Aguerd or Angelo Ogbonna
The Moroccan returned to action just before the World Cup break, having missed a few months with a serious ankle injury. Initially, Aguerd looked like an unbelievable signing but it must be said that cracks have been appearing in his game of late. The 27-year-old is certainly error prone, and has been at fault for numerous goals that West Ham have conceded this season. Meanwhile, Ogbonna is the complete opposite. He is a steady, experienced pro and a great leader. Every time the Italian plays for the Hammers, he never lets us down. It will be really interesting to see whether Moyes opts for the experienced head in the final.
Said Benrahma or Pablo Fornals
The Spaniard has put in a couple of decent performances for the Hammers of late, and has subsequently thrown his name in the hat for a starting spot in the final. Benrahma has been preferred to Pablo pretty much all season long, and he is definitely our most dangerous and creative attacker. However, sometimes Moyes prefers Fornals’ work-rate and defensive responsibility to Benrahma’s. This one will be a really tight call for the Scot, and much will depend on how both of them perform during training between now and next Wednesday night.
Out of the six players mentioned above, I strongly feel that Moyes will go with Coufal, Aguerd and Benrahma. They are the three players I think that he should select as well.
However, if he opts for Kehrer, Ogbonna and Fornals I won’t be too downbeat. They can all perform to a very high level when they’re at their best.
The Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina next week is the biggest game West Ham have faced as a club since the FA Cup final in 2006.
Let’s hope that Moyes gets his starting lineup and tactics 100% spot on, because the Italian outfit will certainly represent our strongest challenge yet in the competition.
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