West Ham vs AZ Europa Conference League semi-final first leg preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups

West Ham and AZ Alkmaar meet in their UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final first leg on Thursday 11 May.

Where to watch West Ham vs AZ

Fans can find their local UEFA Europa Conference League broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

Semi-finalists in the Europa League last season, West Ham were denied a a final place by Eintracht Frankfurt, and will be understandably eager to avoid another last-four exit this time around – especially as winning the competition is now their only hope of securing a European place for next season. The East London side won the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup, and reached the final again in 1976, but making it to Prague would be a huge bonus at the end of a tough season.

AZ, meanwhile, lost their only past major UEFA club competition final to another English side, Ipswich, in the 1980/81 UEFA Cup, but have the wind in their sails, their junior selection having stormed to glory against Hajduk Split in the UEFA Youth League final in April. Their record in England is not good (L6 with 20 goals conceded), but should they break that duck, they can call on mighty recent European home form in the second leg: they are unbeaten in their last 25 UEFA games in Alkmaar (W17 D8).

Predicted line-ups

West Ham: Fabiański; Johnson, Ogbonna, Aguerd, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paquetá, Benrahma; Antonio

AZ: Ryan; Sugawara, Beukema, Hatzidiakos, M. de Wit; Reijnders, Mijnans, Clasie; Lahdo, Pavlidis, Van Brederode
Suspended: Kerkez

Form guide

West Ham
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WLLLWW
Where they stand: 15th in English Premier League

AZ
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DWWWLL
Where they stand: 4th in Dutch Eredivisie

Expert predictions

Lynsey Hooper, West Ham reporter
West Ham are three matches away from securing a first trophy in 43 years and Europa League football next season. They go into the first leg of this semi-final in full confidence knowing they are the only side who remain unbeaten in the competition. With Premier League survival close, David Moyes will want his side to now focus on going one stage further than their Europa League campaign last season and give the fans a memorable end to the campaign. It looks like three first-team regulars will be missing for Thursday's match – Vladimír Coufal (hamstring), Kurt Zouma (ankle) and Gianluca Scamacca (knee) – but the Hammers will still be positive they can take a healthy lead into the second leg.

Derek Brookman, AZ reporter
AZ showed in their 0-0 draw away to Ajax on Saturday that they're not overawed playing a high-stakes match in a large stadium full of opposition fans. With left-back Milos Kerkez suspended and forwards Jens Odgaard and Jesper Karlsson both injury doubts, coach Pascal Jansen will have to shuffle his pack for the trip to London. Whatever the starting XI, though, his philosophy of careful, possession-based play coupled with lightning counterattacks out to shine through.

View from the camps

David Moyes, West Ham manager:  "I think AZ are having an amazing season and we have a really tough opponent. Any Dutch team will be good. They play good football and are well-coached. To reach any final for any team is a big thing. Everybody wants to be successful but we are trying."

Pascal Jansen, AZ Alkmaar coach: "Making the final would, of course, mean a lot to us. Reaching the semi-finals is already something that doesn't happen often and we are very proud to be here. We know that we are facing a big fight, but at the same time we have a chance."

What happens next?

The second leg takes place in Alkmaar on 18 May, with the winners advancing to the 2023 Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina or Basel. West Ham or AZ will be the nominal home team for the final, which takes place at the Eden Arena in Prague, Czechia (pictured above) on Wednesday 7 June.