Adrian: 'We need an early goal'

West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian has urged his teammates to find an early away goal ahead of Thursday's Europa League clash against Birkirkara.

Last week's 1-0 victory at Upton Park handed Slaven Bilic's side the advantage in the second-round qualifying tie, but Adrian believes that the job is far from finished as the Hammers look to move a step closer to a spot in the group stage.

"I have confidence in my teammates but we need to be careful because Birkirkara are playing at home this time," the Spaniard told reporters.

"We need to keep a clean sheet and score an early goal - that would be very important for us.

"They have quality players and they have been playing in Europe for a long time, so we need to be careful of them and to keep our mentality and strength in our team."

Dimitri Payet and Diafra Sakho will both miss out for the Hammers due to suspension.