Picture Kylian Mbappe vs Vladimir Coufal: here’s the teams West Ham could face in a play-off for the last 16 if they don’t top their Europa League group.
West Ham are gearing up to take on Serbian side Backa Topola on Thursday night knowing a positive result will guarantee Europa League knockout football post Christmas.
The Hammers have already guaranteed a spot in the Europa Conference League play-offs as they can finish no lower than third in Group A.
But David Moyes and his side are setting their sights much higher – specifically topping the group to advance straight to the last 16 as they have done in the previous two seasons.
A win would put West Ham in the box seat to top Group A. Because even if Freiburg get a win over Olympiacos, the Germans would then have to beat the Hammers by two clear goals at the London Stadium in the final group game to better their head-to-head record.
Kylian Mbappe vs Vladimir Coufal?
But the Irons will have to get the job done in Serbia without a host of first team stars including Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and – if rumours are correct – Edson Alvarez.
Should West Ham finish second they would enter into a two-legged play-off round against one of the eight teams dropping out of the Champions League. Those matches would be played on February 15th and 22nd 2024.
And it could be Kylian Mbappe vs Vladimir Coufal – here’s the teams West Ham could face in play-off for last 16 if they don’t top Europa League group.
Yes PSG are one of them. In fact the Paris giants looked very likely to be one of the eight teams dropping down until their controversial last gasp penalty against Newcastle this week.
Teams West Ham could face in play-off for last 16
Group A is tight and could see any one of Copenhagen, Galatasaray or Man United finish third.
Although West Ham and Man United would be kept apart if the Red Devils do drop down.
The Champions League dropout from Group B is more cut and dried. It is likely to be Lens – who the Hammers played in pre-season – but could also be old foes Sevilla if they beat the Ligue 1 outfit in the final game of the group stages as they would then have a better head-to-head record.
The Group C dropout looks likely to be Portuguese side Braga unless they can pull off a win by two clear goals over Napoli in the final game or Union Berlin if they shock Real Madrid.
Hammers will be aiming to top group
Group D’s dropout will be RB Salzburg unless they lose by three goals to Benfica.
The team West Ham could face from Group E is Dutch side Feyenoord while PSG, AC Milan or Newcastle could finish third in Group F. If it was Newcastle again West Ham and their Premier League counterparts would be kept apart.
Young Boys will drop down from Group G and Shakhtar Donetsk will drop into the Europa League from Group H unless they beat Porto by three clear goals next time out.
But West Ham will of course be hoping to avoid all of them as they aim to top the group and advance to the last 16 in March.
The 2023/24 UEFA Europa League knockout round play-off draw takes place on Monday 18 December.
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