Dean White

Wed 14 September 2022 17:07, UK

Ben Johnson hasn’t made the flight to Denmark ahead of West Ham United’s clash against Silkeborg at JYSK Park on Thursday, David Moyes has confirmed.

Moyes’ men will be looking to build on their good start to the Europa Conference League against Silkeborg after they won their opening group stage clash with FCSB at the London Stadium last week.

While full-back Johnson, 22, has been left at home in London, Craig Dawson and Aaron Cresswell have made the squad.

Moyes, however, will make a late decision on whether either of them play a role against Silkeborg.

“Craig Dawson and Aaron Cresswell have travelled, Ben Johnson hasn’t. We’ve bought them with us, we will decide with the surface,” said Moyes, as quoted by Football.London as he spoke to the media on Wednesday (14 September).

Momentum

The UEFA Europa Conference League is a winnable competition for West Ham.

We won our opening game against FCSB without any great difficulty at the London Stadium and this game against Silkeborg, who finished third in the Danish top-flight last season, should be easier really.

West Ham play at the JYSK Park – which unfortunately boasts a plastic pitch – on Thursday knowing that they’re the overwhelming favourites to win but we just hope that the added pressure of being the top dogs doesn’t upset their momentum in any way or throws up complacency.

It’s a big chance for some of Moyes’ fringe players though because we’d imagine he won’t name the strongest of starting line-ups when there’s a game to play in the Premier League on Sunday against Everton.

That’s going to be quite a big game because both clubs have started the league season poorly and both managers are bound to be feeling some heat in one way or another.

West Ham should be favourites to win both of their matches this week before the international break kicks off.

Let’s hope they can start off with a win over Silkeborg before taking that momentum into the game against Everton.