RSC Anderlecht Match Preview

West Ham United won Group H in the UEFA Europa League last season and they are on the verge of tying up Group B in the Conference League this time around. Another three points against RSC Anderlecht tonight would achieve that aim.

Prior to last week’s encounter, the two sides were unbeaten in this competition and Anderlecht had yet to concede a goal. The Hammers put an end to both of those statistics in Brussels, meaning the Belgians will surely be looking to get their revenge here, while the hosts will be chasing another victory.

The Irons have started October like a train and will look to stretch their current unbeaten run to four matches, following recent Premier League wins over both Wolverhampton Wanderers and newly-promoted Fulham.

They will however be hoping not to come unstuck in Europe and carry that momentum into another big week of domestic action with upcoming trips to both Southampton and Liverpool.

David Moyes included Ben Johnson in the matchday squad after the defender had recovered from the ankle injury he suffered in the 1-0 triumph at Aston Villa on 28 August. There is a chance that he could return to the starting line-up here.

Gianluca Scamacca, Lucas Paquetá and Declan Rice were all rested for the victory in Belgium but they could retain their places from Sunday’s match against the Cottagers. Scamacca will want to build on his winning goal in the reverse fixture and may be handed a third consecutive start, as Michail Antonio is a doubt with Flu but he will be assessed before a final decision is made on whether he can be involved.

Angelo Ogbonna will hope to get more minutes under his belt as he continues to recover from a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered last November. He could be partnered by Kurt Zouma, should Craig Dawson not be fit enough to start. Although the former Rochdale, West Bromwich Albion and Watford defender appeared to have picked up an injury in Sunday’s clash against Marco Silva’s men, he did finish the game.

Flynn Downes was named Man of the Match in Belgium for his performance alongside Manuel Lanzini and Moyes has to decide whether to include the duo again here. Tomáš Souček may well be an option from the bench, while Saïd Benrahma will want to make amends for missing several chances in Brussels.

Alphonse Areola will again take the goalkeeping gloves from Łukasz Fabiański.

The match kicks off at 8pm and live coverage will be screened by BT Sport from 7:45pm. The referee is Willy Delajod.