da doce： West Ham United have been experiencing something of a mixed Premier League campaign this season, enjoying some impressive highs, such as their away comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur, but also enduring some low lows, such as their 5-0 humbling at the hands of Fulham last weekend.
da spicy bet： Yet, one competition the Hammers have been consistently impressive is the Europa League, where they have won four of their five group games thus far and currently sit top of the pile on 12 points, level with SC Freiburg.
However, there is still the matter of Thursday's match against the Bundesliga side to determine who goes through in first place and who has to play one of the eight Champions League sides who will drop down for the preliminary rounds.
Soucek benched & "unstoppable" gem starts in West Ham's predicted XI vs Freiburg
The Hammers can secure top spot with a home win.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
David Moyes needs to secure at least a draw against the Germans, and one way he can improve his chances is by dropping Aaron Cresswell.
Aaron Cresswell's game in numbers vs Fulham
The English full-back started ahead of the Hammers' regular left-back, Emerson Palmieri, as he was suffering from a bug that was cascading through the Eastenders camp.
With the vast experience that Cresswell can tap into from his time in the top flight, most would have assumed that while unspectacular, he would have at least been able to put in a competent shift at left-back, but this wasn't the case.
The 33-year-old was woeful in the first 45 and was taken off for the still-ill Palmieri, which shows just what Moyes thought of his performance.
The former Ipswich Town defender was given a 4/10 for his showing by the Evening Standard's Malik Ouzia, with the journalist describing his place in the team as a 'mis-match' against Raul Jimenez.
From looking at his statistics, it's clear that Ouzia is right. The Liverpool-born full-back lost 100% of his duels, lost the ball seven times, failed to even register on the expected assists scale, lost the only dribble he attempted, and failed the only cross he tried, all within 45 minutes.
Simply put, he cannot start a game as important as the one against Freiburg.
Stats
Cresswell
Minutes
45
Expected Assists
0.00
Tackles
0
Interceptions
0
Ground Duels (Won)
2 (0)
Possession Lost
7
Crosses (Completed)
1 (0)
Dribbles Attempted (Completed)
1 (0)
Stats via Sofascore
Emerson Palmieri must start against SC Freiburg
If Moyes wants to ensure his side make it through to the next round of the Europa League without having to play the former Champions League sides first, he has to start Palmieri at left-back on Thursday night.
The Italian-Brazilian has started 88% of Premier League games and 40% of European games this season, so it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary for the Scotsman to go with the 29-year-old from the get-go.
In his last start, against Spurs, he put in a performance far more impressive than what Cresswell could muster on the weekend, being described as "one of the best things that could've happened to this football club" by journalist Alan Rzepa after putting in a breathless shift for the full 90.
The dynamic defender was given the club's Man of the Match award, and it is easy to see why, as he made four clearances, five tackles, won eight duels, and maintained a passing accuracy of 81%.
Stats
Palmieri
Minutes
95
Tackles
5
Clearances
4
Ground Duels (Won)
12 (8)
Clearance off Line
1
Passing Accuracy
81%
Dribbles Attempted (Completed)
2 (1)
All Stats via Sofascore
With that in mind, the former Chelsea man must simply come back into the side this evening, at the expense of the hapless Cresswell.