West Ham United will continue their Europa League campaign against Freiburg in Germany tonight, having defeated Serbian outfit Backa Topola at the London Stadium in their group stage opener.
David Moyes' side are fresh from claiming the Europa Conference League trophy with victory over Fiorentina in June, now targetting silver-laden once again and certainly boasting a squad strong enough to do so, having made a wealth of exciting additions to combat the £105m sale of Declan Rice.
Player
Price
Mohammed Kudus
£38m
James Ward-Prowse
£30m
Edson Alvarez
£35m
Konstantinos Mavropanos
£19m
Sean Moore
N/A
They've started the current campaign well both domestically and in Europe, but would really put themselves in the driving seat with a win against the Bundesliga outfit.
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The Hammers will have to contend with the absence of Michail Antonio, who has not travelled to Germany along with Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell.
That aside, Moyes has a pretty fresh squad to consider for selection, having dispatched Sheffield United 2-0 with relative ease in the Premier League at the weekend.
That being said, rotation might be made as the relentless fixture list keeps on churning, and with a forthcoming tie against high-flying Newcastle United, making some changes might be a prudent move.
Why should West Ham start Pablo Fornals?
At the Stade Europa-Park, Moyes would be wise to hand Pablo Fornals only his third start across all competitions this season, less integral than he formerly has been since his £24m move from Villarreal in 2019.
The 27-year-old Spaniard has completed 188 appearances for the Hammers and played a big part in winning the Conference League last season, once praised as "unbelievable" by journalist Karl Matchett.
A dynamic and creative midfielder, Fornals can play both down the left channel and in a more central position, and given that he is currently out of contract at the end of the season, he will be desperate to take his chances to impress.
He already did so in the first Europa League match against TSC, completing 81% of his passes, making one key pass, and taking 48 touches from his attacking midfield role.
Further upfield, some might expect Danny Ings to lead the line with Antonio sidelined, but the veteran striker has not been at the races so far this season and hasn't scored across seven appearances.
As such, Mohammed Kudus' energy and threat could be well-equipped to deal with a Freiburg defence that has kept clean sheets across the past two outings.
Kudus has scored five goals and supplied one assist this season, but only one of those goals has come during his time as an Iron, bagging a hat-trick for Ajax in their Europa League qualifier in August.
As per FBref, the 23-year-old maverick ranks among the top 6% of positional peers for goals scored, the top 1% for pass completion and the top 1% for successful take-ons per 90, illustrating his threat and crispness, as well as his knack at driving forward as a box-crashing star.
The £65k-per-week Fornals could be integral in providing Kudus with apt supplementation, with the six-cap international ranking among the top 11% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive passes and the top 17% for passes attempted per 90.
Such reliable support is just what Kudus needs to harness his qualities in the final third, and while Freiburg will not roll over for West Ham, such a partnership could be exactly what is needed to make it back-to-back victories on the continental scene.