West Ham v TSC: Moyes and Mo to sweep aside visitors

• Hammers on a high after UECL win

• Backa Topola well beaten by Braga in UCL quals

• Back Kudus to shine in Hammers victory

West Ham v TSC
Thursday 21 September, 14:30
Live on TNT Sports

Hammers looking to maintain European tradition

West Ham have had an extraordinary couple of years in continental competition. They charged to the semi-finals of the Europa League two seasons ago, falling short against the eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt. Last term they took the Europa Conference League seriously from the get-go, and that culminated in joy in Prague, as Jarrod Bowen wrote his name in Hammers folklore with a late winner in the final against Fiorentina.

Now West Ham are back in the Europa League, and although Freiburg will be tricky opponents, David Moyes' side should be able to top their group and avoid having to play a Champions League dropout in the last 32. The eight group winners get an immediate bye to the last 16.

West Ham's Premier League form has been excellent at the start of the season. After starting with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, the Hammers reeled off three victories on the spin, downing Chelsea, Brighton and Luton.

At the weekend West Ham competed strongly with Manchester City, eventually losing 3-1 to the champions of England and Europe. At 1-1, West Ham defender Kurt Zouma was denied by an outstanding save from Ederson, and late goals from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland swung the match in City's favour.

West Ham battled relegation alongside their European efforts last term, but with ten points already on the board, it looks unlikely that Moyes will suffer too many stresses and strains this time around. New signing James Ward-Prowse has settled in beautifully, already delivering two goals and three assists in his first four Premier League games. Gareth Southgate, take note.

Mohammed Kudus could be handed his first start after arriving from Ajax, while his former Ajax comrade Edson Alvarez is thought to have shaken off a knock. Centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos could get the chance to shine after signing from Stuttgart, while Danny Ings and Said Benrahma are pushing for starts

Braga thrashing a hint at Backa Topola's level

Given that TSC Backa Topola have never won a major trophy and that they have only ever previously qualified for Europe once, it is a major achievement for them to even be involved in the group stage of a major tournament. They finished second in the Serbian top flight behind Crvena Zvezda, qualifying them for a crack at the Champions League.

That UCL push didn't last very long, as they were dismantled by a Braga side that went on to reach the group stage of European football's top competition. Braga won 3-0 in Portugal and 4-1 in Serbia, giving TSC a stark reminder of their place in the European food chain.

However, this is a side in form. They have surged to the top of the Serbian Super Liga, and are three points clear of Partizan. TSC have collected 19 points from their first seven matches, rattling in 18 goals across those seven games.

TSC tend to share the goals around, although Ifet Dakovac has already scored three league goals, having netted ten across last term. Coach Zarko Lazetic isn't expected to make too many changes to his starting line-up from the weekend's 6-3 win over Zeleznicar.

Kudus the key to Bet Builder

It would be a surprise if Kudus wasn't given a start here, so I'll back the Ghanaian to score, West Ham to win, Over 1.5 Goals and Over 6.5 Corners at 2.727/4 on the Bet Builder. Kudus showed for Ajax in the Champions League last season that he is capable of scoring on the big stage (he netted stunning goals against Liverpool and Rangers), and he looked sharp for Ajax this term before making the move to East London.

Although TSC Backa Topola have done well domestically, the way they were outclassed across two legs by Braga suggests they will struggle here.

If Kudus is injured ahead of kick-off or simply isn't selected, you can replace him with last season's UECL-winning hero Jarrod Bowen, and that actually gives you a bigger price of 3.2456/25.