WEST HAM need victory over leaky Serbian side TSC Backa Topola to progress to the knockout stage of the Europa League and should get the result they crave.
Here are the latest match odds for Backa Topola vs West Ham from our top-rated football bookies. Odds are subject to change.
West Ham have been excellent in Europe under David Moyes’ leadership and they are expected to book their place in the knockout stage of the Europa League on Thursday.
To guarantee that, they will need to beat TSC Backa Topola, the Serbian side who have already conceded a competition-high 13 goals. Unsurprisingly, the Premier League outfit are hot favourites.
However, it might not be all plain sailing. It certainly wasn’t in the reverse fixture back in September when the visitors took a shock lead early in the second half before the Hammers fought back to win 3-1.
And while the hosts’ record of just two wins in 13 in all competitions shows their recent struggles, West Ham have hardly been hugely convincing themselves, needing late goals to see off Nottingham Forest and Burnley in their last two outings, both of which could easily have been lost.
Like the home game against TSC, both of those matches were level at the break and that’s a nod to a possible value angle here.
While West Ham are odds-on to lead at both half time and full time in the HT/FT market, Draw/West Ham is available at 10/3.
With the hosts still chasing a place in the Europa Conference League post-Christmas, they won’t lie down and they have already held Olympiakos in their tight stadium in this campaign.
That’s our top bet for this game – read on to check out the others.
Find our best bets for the Backa Topola vs West Ham game below. Odds for the bets are provided by the best sportsbooks per our expert reviews. Odds in the bettings tips are subject to change.
The centre-back has been carded in six of his 17 starts this season and that immediately makes odds of close to 4/1 look rather big.
West Ham dominated possession (78%) when these sides met at the London Stadium, so this looks sure to be a busy night for the home defence.
And Dutch ref Allard Lindhout has a fine card record in UEFA club games – he’s shown at least five cards in nine of his 10 such appointments.
Another bet to consider with the Serb is for him to have 1+ shot, something he’s managed in all four Europa League games so far.
Back Stojic to be carded at 15/4 at bet365
Ward-Prowse is already into double figures for assists this season, with four of them coming in this competition in which he has started every game.
The Serbs struggled to defend set plays in the reverse fixture, conceding twice from corners with Ward-Prowse duly notching two assists.
The England international’s delivery from dead balls is second to none and if he starts in a game in which the bookies are expecting multiple West Ham goals, he’ll have a good chance of an assist.
Bet on a Ward-Prowse assist at 21/10 at Spreadex
West Ham are a very short price to win this game but a way of getting some value out of them could be to turn to the half time/full time market.
The Hammers have won three in a row but each game has been level at the interval. The same scenario played out when these sides met in London in September.
With the hosts having struggled defensively in this competition, it’s not hard to see them taking a safety-first approach and the visitors, who will be without Michail Antinio and possibly Jarrod Bowen, could take a while to break them down.
Back Draw/West Ham in HT/FT market at 10/3 at Sky Bet
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