West Ham United will kick off their preparations for the new campaign with a pre-season clash against Swiss outfit Servette on Friday evening.
The Hammers have been in France this week for a training camp, while Servette have already played four friendlies this summer, including a 1-0 defeat to Annecy on Tuesday.
Match preview
Servette are 17-time Swiss champions, with their last title success coming in 1999, and they finished sixth in the Swiss Super League last term, picking up 44 points from their 36 matches.
The Maroons have missed out on European football for the 2022-23 campaign due to their final position in the table, but their new league season is due to begin against St Gallen on July 17, so they are deep into their preparations for the start of competitive action.
Servette have already played four times this summer, beating Sion, Stade Lausanne-Ouchy and Neuchatel Xamax in their first three friendlies before losing 1-0 against Annecy on July 5.
Alain Geiger's side, who are one of Switzerland's oldest clubs, will certainly provide competitive opposition for West Ham, who are just beginning their pre-season schedule.
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West Ham enjoyed a successful 2021-22 campaign, reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League, fifth round of the FA Cup and quarter-finals of the League Cup, in addition to finishing seventh in the Premier League.
The Hammers had the chance to claim sixth spot in the table on the final weekend of the campaign, but they lost 3-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion, which saw them finish behind Manchester United, with David Moyes's side qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
West Ham will have to come through a playoff round in order to advance to the group stage, with the draw being held at the start of August, while they will start their 2022-23 Premier League campaign at home to Manchester City on August 7.
Moyes's side have a busy summer in terms of friendlies, facing Ipswich Town, Boreham Wood, Reading, Rangers, Luton Town and Lens before the end of the month.
West Ham have made two signings in the current market, bringing in Nayef Aguerd from Monaco, while a loan deal for Alphonse Areola has been made permanent; there have also been outgoings in the shape of Ryan Fredericks, Andriy Yarmolenko and Mark Noble.
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Team News
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Servette boss Geiger will want to make the full use of his squad on Friday, so it is difficult to predict his starting XI, but there should be a spot in attack for recent arrival Patrick Pflucke.
Chris Bedia could also feature in the final third of the field, while Alexis Antunes is also likely to be in the starting team for the home side.
However, Mailk Sawadogo, Theo Valls and Sidiki Camara are among the injury doubts, with Boubacar Fofana, Ronny Rodelin and Dimitri Oberlin also potentially missing out.
As for West Ham, Moyes will have a strong squad available for the contest, but Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen are all likely to miss out once again following their international commitments in June, while it is unclear whether new signing Aguerd will feature.
Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma, Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals should all play, though, in addition to the likes of Aaron Cresswell, Arthur Masuaku and Issa Diop.
Angelo Ogbonna has also been in training with the Hammers this week, as the centre-back bids to fully recover from the serious knee injury that saw him miss the majority of last season.
Servette possible starting lineup:
Frick; Vouilloz, Roullier, Hencoz, Severin; Douline, Imeri, Cognat; Antunes, Bedia, Pflucke
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Masuaku, Zouma, Diop, Cresswell; Fornals, Lanzini, Coventry; Benrahma, Antonio, Chesters
We say: Servette 1-2 West Ham United
Servette are certain to provide competitive opposition for West Ham, which is exactly what Moyes will want at the start of pre-season. The Hammers will be missing some important players, but we are expecting them to run out narrow winners in Friday's friendly.
Matt Law
