November has been an enjoyable month for West Ham so far, as they have won four of their last five fixtures in all competitions, including each of their last three against Olympiacos, Nottingham Forest and Burnley.
The Hammers had to come from behind to beat Forest 3-2 in their final Premier League game before the international break, and they were required to do the same against Burnley on Saturday, with an 86th-minute own goal from Dara O’Shea followed by a 91st-minute strike from Tomas Soucek – his second match-winner in as many games – to seal a 2-1 success at Turf Moor.
Sitting ninth in the Premier League table, 15 points clear of the relegation zone and only three behind Newcastle United in sixth, West Ham are certainly looking up towards the right end of the top-flight standings, but they will now briefly shift their focus to Europa League action as they endeavour to claim top spot in Group A.
Nine group-stage points have been accumulated from a possible 12 available by David Moyes’s men, who are aware that a victory in Serbia on Thursday will guarantee their place in the Europa League knockout rounds, although top spot cannot be secured until they face Freiburg – level on points at the summit – in their final group game in two weeks’ time.
West Ham’s impressive goalscoring form on the road bodes well ahead of Thursday’s contest, as they have found the net in all 10 of their away fixtures in all competitions this season, although they have only won five of those and had lost three in succession before the win at Burnley.
Backa Topola’s hopes of reaching the Europa League knockout rounds are over, as they sit eight points adrift of both West Ham and Freiburg in the top two of Group A with just two games remaining.
TSC are one of only six teams in this season’s Europa League who have failed to win any of their first four group-stage matches, instead losing three and picking up their only point in a 2-2 home draw with Olympiacos on matchday two.
Zarko Lazetic’s side unsurprisingly sit rock bottom of Group A, but they still have a chance of finishing above Olympiacos in third, which would see them drop down into the Europa Conference League playoffs, as they only sit three points behind the Greek outfit, who they will face in Serbia in their final group game.
Backa Topola suffered a heavy 5-0 away defeat to Freiburg in their most recent Europa League match before losing 2-1 at home to Vojvodina in the Serbian SuperLiga, but they returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion last weekend as they surprisingly beat Partizan Belgrade 4-0 on the road, condemning the league leaders to their first defeat of the campaign.
Many teams would welcome a return to home soil, but Lazetic’s men enter Thursday’s contest having failed to win any of their last five matches at the TSC Arena, conceding 10 goals in the process.
