West Ham vs Astra Giurgiu – UEFA Europa League – Preview

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Sreya

West Ham United will face FC Astra Giurgiu in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League qualifier at the Olympic Stadium on 25th August, Wednesday. West Ham United are only one match away from securing a spot in the group stages of this season’s UEFA Europa League.

West Ham United secured an away goal in the first leg when Mark Noble’s penalty gave Slaven Bilic’s side an early lead. Denis Alibec’s late equalizer may have dampened the London club’s mood but they are still at an advantage going into the second leg.

Aaron Creswell, Andre Awey, Sofaine Feghouli and Andy Carroll are sidelined through injuries while Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini are listed as doubts. West Ham United won their weekend game against AFC Bournemouth but Astra Giurgiu lost their match against CFR Cluj.

“I hope to be involved against Astra as I did well in the first leg even though I was playing left-back. Hopefully I’ll get some more game time. I quite enjoyed playing at left-back to be fair, and it’s always good to play in different positions. If the gaffer asks me to do a job there, I’ll be more than happy to. It’s 100 per cent important that we progress and get through to the group stage. We of course want to do better than we did in the competition last year.”

– Reece Burke, West Ham United.

According to Head-2-Head statistics, West Ham United have never won against Astra, losing once and drawing twice. Having been drawn against the Romanian champions last season, they played out a 2-2 draw at home, followed by a 2-1 loss in Romania.

The odds for a West Ham win are at 1.25, a draw are at 5.75 and a win for Astra Giurgiu is at 11. West Ham United will start as clear favorites and are likely to progress through to the group stages with a probable scoreline of 2-1 in this match.