West Ham commence their second consecutive season in Europe with a Europa League Conference qualifier against Danish Superliga side Viborg on Thursday. James Cantrill picks out his best bet.
West Ham commence their second consecutive season in Europe with a Europa League Conference qualifier against Danish Superliga side Viborg on Thursday.
David Moyes did not personally attend the pre-match press conference, which perfectly depicts his regard for this match and, in terms of team news, I expect him to act accordingly.
This should see heavy rotation with starts potentially for the likes of Gianluca Scamacca and Flynn Downes. Given the Hammers squad depth, they are heavy favourites to get the job done here which is why value has been picked out from elsewhere.
Kick-off time: 19:45 BST, Thursday
TV channel: BT Sport 1
Marco Di Bello takes charge of this fixture at the London Stadium. In Europe, the Italian whistleblower has brandished an average of 4.6 cards per game.
This campaign, he has taken charge of one Europa League qualifier and one Champions League qualifier, dishing out a total of 13 bookings.
Last season, he oversaw a five goal thriller between Tottenham and Vinesse, during which he awarded seven cards in total with Cristian Romero and two of the Dutch sides players seeing red.
Therefore, I think the player card market could be worth delving into and one bet that is worth considering is JEPPE GRONNING TO BE SHOWN A CARD.
Gronning has racked up 17 domestic cards, seven of which coming last season, in a career spanning just shy of 100 appearances. This season, he has been carded twice in eight games.
In the Danish Superliga, he has committed the second most fouls of any player (13). He has also successfully completed 13 tackles, making it very easy to decipher what his role in the side is.
That combined total of 26 fouls committed and tackles won is exactly twice the amount of the next best total at the club, and given the quality of the opposition you would fancy him to add to this tally in London.
West Ham v Viborg best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Jeppe Gronning Card at 11/4 (Sky Bet)
Score prediction: West Ham 3-0 Viborg (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)
Odds correct at 1530 BST (17/08/22)
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