West Ham United could be without up to five senior players for their Europa Conference League play-off qualifying round second leg against Viborg on Thursday night.
The Hammers face their Danish opponents on Thursday in their two-legged play-off qualifying tie, with the winner over the two legs booking a place in the group stages of this season’s Europa Conference League.
Going into the second leg of the game, David Moyes’ side have a 3-1 advantage from last week’s first leg at the London Stadium, where Gianluca Scamacca, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio all opened their accounts for the club.
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Moyes will also be boosted by the fact that both he and vice-captain Aaron Cresswell will both be back available after missing the first leg victory through suspension. However, captain Declan Rice will again be absent, serving the second part of his two-match ban following comments made after the club’s Europa League exit last season.
Latest signing Emerson will also be unavailable. UEFA laws state that squads registered for the first leg cannot be altered for the second leg, meaning he would be ineligible to feature.
Right-back Vladimir Coufal will be absent after being forced off in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion due to a concussion and while he has trained, concussion protocols prevent him from being selected.
Centre-back Craig Dawson is also out, having missed the opening four games of the season with a quad injury, while defensive colleague Nayef Aguerd remains sidelined until mid-October.
Due to the absentees, and the fact that up to 12 substitutes can be named, a number of academy players could be involved. Harrison Ashby started the first leg, while Pierre Ekwah, Daniel Chesters, Armstrong Oko-Flex and Jamal Baptiste were all named on the bench.
Here is a look at who could feature for the Hammers against Viborg.
Full West Ham United squad to face Viborg
Goalkeepers: Lukasz Fabianski, Alphonse Areola, Darren Randolph.
Defenders: Ben Johnson, Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson (doubt), Thilo Kehrer, Aaron Cresswell.
Midfielders/wingers: Tomas Soucek, Flynn Downes, Conor Coventry, Jarrod Bowen, Manuel Lanzini, Maxwel Cornet, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma.
Forwards: Michail Antonio, Gianluca Scamacca.
Potential academy players: Harrison Ashby, Jamal Baptiste, Pierre Ekwah, Daniel Chesters, Armstrong Oko-Flex.
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