Backa Topola and West Ham United will face off in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League group game.
Backa are playing the group stages of the Europa League for the first time in their history. Braga knocked them out of the UEFA Champions League after losing 7-1 on aggregate. Since that round of games against Braga, they were beaten by West Ham United 3-1 in a second-half goal fest at the London Stadium.
The Serbian side had a strong campaign last season, finishing just behind Red Star Belgrade in the league last season, but they have made a solid start to the new campaign. Backa currently sits in the second spot of the Serbian Super Liga. They are just one of the two teams yet to be beaten in the league after eight games. Backa is off the level of their Europa League opponents, and they know that home games like this could be crucial in their run towards achieving something great in this competition.
After the success they recorded in Europe last season, West Ham is one of the favorites to win this competition this season. Meanwhile, the Europa League group stage is already a huge accomplishment for Žarko Lazetić’s Backa. Â
David Moyes’ West Ham has equally made a fabulous start to the new campaign as it drew with Bournemouth in their season opener before beating Chelsea 3-1 at the London Stadium. And a 3-1 win over Brighton when the odds were not in their favor. Just before the international break, they claimed a 2-1 win over Luton Town courtesy of goals from Bowen and Kurt Zouma, while James Ward-Prowse got another assist from a corner.
The first defeat of the season eventually came when they hosted Manchester City at the London Stadium. Moyes’ side took a 1-0 lead into the break, but the defending champions fought back to win the game 3-1 eventually. Fresh from that defeat, West Ham United defeated Backa Topola 3-1 at the London Stadium in their UEFA Europa League opener. Mohammed Kudus was the show’s star as he scored two well-taken goals. A second successive defeat in the Premier League was handed to the Hammers on their trip to Anfield to face Liverpool. However, they grabbed two back-to-back wins in their next two games to return to winning.
This is the penultimate match day of the group, and things need to look more suitable for Backa Topola. However, they have demonstrated that they won’t be pushovers in this season’s competition despite being one of the lowest-ranked of the 32 clubs.
This is a group that has Olympiacos, Freiburg, and Thursday’s opponents Backa Topola, which means the Hammers cannot afford to slip in their reverse fixture as the European knock out stages of the competition beckons. West Ham play very well on the road in Europe and Backa, who will be hosting an English team at home for the first time, will need to do better than they did in London.
Match tickets
This epic match at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola kicks off on Thursday 30th November, at 6:45 PM UK time and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 6 PM.
This is going to be an historic game in Backa Topola as the debutants will play host to the defending champions of the UEFA Conference League. The fans should be heavily present for this one and West Ham supporters are also expected to be there but the 4,500-capacity venue might be too small for this important fixture.
Getting tickets for the TSC Backa Topola vs West Ham United match tickets could be a problem considering the kind of opposition coming to the ground. Anyways, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.Â
Team news
Line-ups
Backa have a clean bill of health as all the players are available for the visit of West Ham. Coach Žarko Lazetić will be keen to put out his best team for this game with the likes of Radin, Djakovac, and Petrovic all expected to feature in the middle of the park. With the way things have gone, the Serbians will be looking to give their fans a good show regardless of their position.Â
TSC Backa Topola: Llic; Antonic, Stojic, Cvetinovic; Vlalukin, Stanic, Radin, Djakovac, Petrovic; Jovanovic, Rakonjac.
David Moyes understands what he needs from his team at the moment and he has continued to rotate his goalkeepers in Europe. Areola played virtually all the European games as number two last season, but things have changed and Fabianski is now the trusted man in this competition. Kudus is beginning to play his way into the hearts of the West Ham fans and the manager is keen to give him more playing time. Meanwhile, apart from Aaron Cresswell who has been battling a thigh problem all season, West Ham do have a clean bill of health.
West Ham United: Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Soucek, Benrahma; Bowen, Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Antonio.
Prediction
As of the time of writing, Backa Topola has lost their past three European games – twice against Braga and West Ham United. They are the group’s whipping boys, and many do not expect them to progress from this group.
In the first leg in London, the Serbians scored first through Petar Stanic, but West Ham rallied back to win 3-1 courtesy of a brace from Mohammed Kudus. West Ham United has an excellent European record, and Backa Topola might need help to disrupt that.
TSC Backa Topola 1-2 West Ham United
