Thursday Night Football: TSC Backa Topola at London Stadium
I don't really want to start a thread, because ASLEF has been very good at them so far this season, and I am not going to bother doing an impression of him.
I assume we'll see a few fresh faces on Thursday night - particularly as we have a tough game at Anfield on Sunday - but the boss will want to get points on the board early doors too, so I don't think it will be wholesale changes.
I reckon we'll see something like this:
Fabianski; Kehrer Mavraponos Aguerd Johnson; Soucek Ward-Prowse; Bowen Kudus Benrahma; Ings
Bench: Areola Zouma Coufal Emerson Paqueta Fornals Cornet Mubama Antonio
I assume we'll see a few fresh faces on Thursday night - particularly as we have a tough game at Anfield on Sunday - but the boss will want to get points on the board early doors too, so I don't think it will be wholesale changes.
I reckon we'll see something like this:
Fabianski; Kehrer Mavraponos Aguerd Johnson; Soucek Ward-Prowse; Bowen Kudus Benrahma; Ings
Bench: Areola Zouma Coufal Emerson Paqueta Fornals Cornet Mubama Antonio
Comments
Last season Braga finished 3rd in their Europa League group stage and were subsequently knocked out of the Conference League by Fiorentina
So were playing a team that were beaten by a team that was beaten by the team we beat in the ECL final
They're romping away with the Serbia SuperLiga at the moment P7 W6 D1 L0 GF18 GA6, 4pts clear of Red Star Belgrade although they play them at the weekend.
It's a very Serbian side, just four foreigners; a Croatian, a North Macedonian, a Hungarian and Montenegrin who was born in Serbia.
There aren't any current full internationals in the squad but three players - 31yo LB Nemanja Petrovic, 25yo CB Nemanja Stojic and 21yo LW Milos Pantovic - all won their first caps in a friendly against the USA in January but none of them have featured in the Serbian side since then.
North Macedonian Martin Mircevski (26yo LW/AM/CF) got his first cap by playing 7 minutes against Azerbaijan in November but like his team mates he's not been recalled.
Away to Braga they set up 3-5-2 and lost 3-0 then for the home leg they started 4-3-3 and lost 4-1.
Backa Topola is the second largest town (pop. 33.3k) in a largely agricultural region
Our away fixture isn't until the end of November so sadly we'll be too late for the annual stuffed cabbage cooking contest (end of October) plus we've already missed the Carnival of Honey (last weekend) and the Vojvodina Peasants Olympics (20th August) featuring rubber boot throwing, straw bale throwing, tractor racing, "bean reading", egg carrying and a "traditional pig ring"
I don't think I want to know...
Kehrer - Mavropanos - Ogbonna - Cresswell
Coventry - Fornals
Bowen - Kudus - Benrahma
Mubama
#coat_retrieval
27yo CM Milos Vulic spent 2020/21 season in Serie A with FC Crotone, followed by two seasons in Serie B before joining TSC on a free last month.
Fabianski
Johnson Kehrer Mavropanos Cresswell
Soucek (c) Fornals
Kudus Benrahma Cornet
Ings
Last season Dawson wanted to leave in the summer but was professional about it and played his best when asked, I don't see why Cresswell would be any different. He played in the "Lingard" friendly and scored a free kick
—————— Fab —————-
Johnson Mavro Ogbonna Cress
————— Kehrer —————-
——— Soucek - Fornals ——
— Kudus ———-— Cornet —
——-——- Mubama ————-
Ogbonna captain
Effectively we'd be playing three CBs against a Championship/League One level team.
Oggy is 35, I'm sure he'd be happy to let Mavropanos have some minutes then replace him when we are 3-0 up and Dinos runs out of puff
BTW 3-0 currently bookies favourite at 11/2
In the group stages its P12 W10 D1 L1
I have absolutely no worries that Moyes will underestimate the opposition
From Moyes's presser:
The first question is about team news:
"We've got everybody available, everybody fit and ready to play.
Edson Álvarez is suspended. He's still getting used to the Premier League but he's fine and fit and healthy."
Not sure why Alvarez is suspended, but I suspect he woulda been rested anyway.
We played a 3-4-3 formation, with Johnson & Coufal either side of Obgonna at CB, and Cornet as the LWB.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/west-ham-united_viborg-ff/index/spielbericht/3899237
Also "Cautions and pending yellow-card suspensions from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference League expire at the end of the season"
So despite getting booked in the final Cresswell has currently no bookings - but give him time...
Alvarez got two yellows in Ajax's Europa League playoff 2nd leg against Union Berlin, lost 3-1. That does carry over.
COYI ⚒⚒⚒
Subs: Areola (GK), Anang (GK), Coufal, Johnson, Emerson, Zouma, Aguerd, Coventry, Souček, Cornet, Antonio, Mubama
Pleased that we get to see what Kudus can do, but disappointed Cornet doesn't get a start somewhere tbh.