West Ham on the Verge of Breaking English Record for Most European Matches Unbeaten
West Ham United are on the brink of making history when they take on SC Freiburg in the Europa League on Thursday. The Hammers are on a run of 16 games without defeat, which would make them the English team with the most European matches unbeaten if they can extend their streak.
The current record is held by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team, Don Revie’s Leeds in the 1960s and Bill Nicholson’s 1970s Tottenham side, all of whom had 16 games unbeaten in Europe. When asked about the potential record, West Ham manager David Moyes said, “I didn’t know that, not bad names then, are they? It would be a great achievement if we can do that. Let’s hope we can keep it going.”
West Ham have done well in Europe over the last couple of seasons, winning the Europa Conference League last season and kicking off their Europa League Group A campaign with a 3-1 win against Backa Topola. However, their next opponents, Bundesliga side SC Freiburg, will likely pose a tougher test for the Hammers after their 3-2 win against Olympiakos in their opener.
Moyes said of the upcoming match, “We’re playing a really good team who have had excellent success in the Bundesliga and did really well in Europe last year as well… From maybe not being the biggest name in Germany they’ve certainly grown and got themselves in a really good position.”
Unfortunately for West Ham, they will be without striker Michail Antonio due to a tight adductor muscle, meaning Danny Ings is set to start in his place.
West Ham have been on an impressive run of form over the past few seasons and have a chance to make history with a win against SC Freiburg on Thursday night. With a win, they would break the record for the most European matches unbeaten by an English side and prove that they are a force to be reckoned with in European football.