STAR PREVIEW Thurs: West Ham v Rapid Vienna

After a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Dinamo Zagreb in their opening group match, West Ham will be looking to continue their 100% start to their Europa League campaign when they welcome Rapid Vienna to the London Stadium on Thursday evening.

West Ham United defied all their pre-season critics last season – many of whom predicted that the Hammers would be involved in a relegation battle – by finishing 6th in the Premier League and earning automatic qualification through to the Europa League group-stages.

They are now out to prove that that success wasn’t just a flash in the pan and they have made a pretty good start in doing so this season. David Moyes’ side currently sit 7th in the Premier League after a dramatic, late 2-1 victory over Leeds United at the weekend.

Michail Antonio was the man who got that winning goal in that game and he continues to be West Ham’s main attacking threat. The former Tooting & Mitcham trainee has scored six goals in six appearances this season, averaging a goal every 88 minutes.

West Ham United v Rapid Vienna
UEFA Europa League Group Stage
20:00 BT Sport 1 / BT Sport Ultimate

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
First ever meeting between two sides

Rapid Vienna currently sit on zero points in Group H after a 92nd-minute winner from Paul Onuachu dealt them a dramatic defeat in their opening group match against Belgian side Genk.

They haven’t enjoyed a good time of it in the league either, only winning one of their last six matches and currently lying in the lowly position of second-bottom in the Austrian Bundesliga after a 3-0 hammering by Sturm Graz in their last outing.

The Austrian side will also be without a number of key players, with Christopher Dibon, Richard Strebinger, Oliver Strunz and Lion Schuster all sidelined for this tough clash with the Hammers.

All of this is stacking heavily in the favour of West Ham ahead of this one and it’s hard to see anything other than a West Ham victory here. We’re expecting Moyes’ men to make it two wins out of two in the Europa League and backing them to win to nil in this one.

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⚠️ Stakes advised on a scale of 0-10 points depending on confidence from our preview team

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