Best and worst case scenarios for West Ham in the…

Best and worst case scenarios for West Ham in the Europa Conference League round of 16 draw

West Ham United will discover who they will face in the Europa Conference League’s round of 16 on Friday afternoon.

The draw, which is due to take place at 12pm UK time, will see the Hammers face one of the eight sides who won their two-legged play-off knockout round ties, with the second legs taking place on Thursday evening.

Of the eight sides who West Ham could face, Serie A duo Lazio and Fiorentina are possibilities, with the duo winning play-off games against Cluj and Braga respectively.

The rest of the list of opponents consists of Sheriff (Moldova), AEK Larnaca (Cyprus), Basel (Switzerland), Lech Poznan (Poland), Anderlecht (Belgium) and Gent (Belgium).

Ahead of the draw, football.london takes a look at the best and worst case scenarios from Friday afternoon’s draw.

Best case scenario

The best case scenario from a travel perspective is very different to what it is from a quality of opposition perspective on the whole, with many of the strongest sides being easiest to travel to, and the lower-ranked sides being the furthest away.

Of the eight possible opponents, four are currently ranked outside of UEFA’s top 100 clubs, based on their UEFA Club Coefficient Rankings. West Ham are ranked 48th.

The lowest-ranked side who West Ham could face is AEK Larnaca, sat 142nd in the rankings, play their club football in Cyprus and currently sit top of their domestic league.

In their knockout play-off tie, they saw off Ukrainian outfit Dnipro-1 with a 1-0 win. However, a flight time of north of four and a half hours each way makes it one of the longest possible journeys.

The next lowest-ranked side is Anderlecht from Belgium, who West Ham have already beaten twice in this season’s group stage. They beat Ludogorets via penalties to get into the round of 16.

With a very short travel time and having beaten them already this season, fielding rotated sides, the Hammers will know what to expect against an Anderlecht team ranked 113th in Europe and ninth in the Belgian Pro League.

Italian side Fiorentina (102nd) and Polish team Lech Poznan (110th) are also ranked outside of the top 100. With flight times of around two hours each way to Florence and Poznan respectively, they could be classes among the more favourable options.

Worst case scenario

Swiss side Basel are the highest-ranked opponent West Ham could face on paper, sat 35th in Europe, one of two sides West Ham could face that are ranked above them.

While it would be among the shortest possible distance, Basel are a side with plenty of European experience, although have struggled in their own domestic league this season, sat sixth after just six wins in their 21 league games.

The next-highest ranked is Lazio, who dropped down from the Europa League, with all four teams in their group ending on eight points after two wins, two draws and two losses.

Managed by ex-Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri and with a squad that includes ex-Hammers forward Felipe Anderson, Lazio sit fifth in Serie A and just two points behind the Champions League spots, with both city rivals Roma and AC Milan only ahead of them by two points.

Moldovan outfit Sheriff, ranked 81st, would be a very awkward tie for the Hammers, who currently sit top of the Moldovan top-flight.

With the first leg being away and coming just two and a half days before a Premier League tie at home to Aston Villa, West Ham will certainly want as easy of a journey home as possible.

While a short distance, Belgian side Gent would also be a tough challenge for West Ham. They sit 51st in UEFA’s rankings and fifth in the Belgian Pro League, a point behind the competition’s Championship round. They beat Azerbaijani outfit Qarabag on penalties.

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