West Ham train for crunch Europa League clash against Sevilla - in pictures


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West Ham are preparing for an uphill battle when they take on Sevilla in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Hammers trail 1-0 from the first leg of their last-16 tie against the La Liga giants. The Europa League is the Hammers' best chance of a first major trophy in more than four decades.

"We need to score and I hope, on Thursday, in front of a full stadium, we show our quality and make the most of the opportunity," said West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek.

Manager David Moyes earlier watched Manchester United crash out of the Champions League on Tuesday against Atletico Madrid, who were not afraid to win soft free-kicks or stay down to waste time as they held out for a 1-0 win. He is preparing for more of the same.

Moyes said: "If you watched Atletico Madrid, they did a great job on Manchester United in killing the game off at times, so we have to be well aware how we manage that and we don't let it get to us and keep our focus.

"We're going to play against a side that will make it difficult, maybe disrupt the game at times and play a different way, so we're going to need the crowd to see that as well."

Thursday night's match will be West Ham's biggest game since their move to the London Stadium in 2016.

Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell, who both went off injured against Aston Villa on Sunday, were back in light training and will be assessed ahead of kick-off.

Stormy seas

Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.

We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice. 

Updated: March 17, 2022, 5:13 AM`