Astra Giurgiu v West Ham United preview: Europa League group stage place at stake

West Ham United travel to Astra Giurgiu in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off round tie on Thursday night with a place in Europe's second-tier competition up for grabs.

Slaven Bilic's side, who began the Premier League by losing 2-1 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday Night Football, have already seen off the challenge of NK Domzale 4-2 on aggregate in the third qualifying round to set up this trip to southern Romania.

And victory over two legs over an Astra team that knocked West Ham out of the competition when they met in a third-round qualifier last year would see the club qualify for the group stage of the Europa League.

However, the visitors know they will face a tough examination at the Stadionul Marin Anastasovici on Thursday, with their opponents having gone on to win the Liga I last season after eliminating the Hammers from Europe.

Marius Sumudica's team, though, have made a disappointing start to their title defence in this campaign, with Astra having picked up only four points from their first four league games.

This also comes on the back of Astra's failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stages after losing to FC Kobenhavn in the third qualifying round, a defeat that saw them slip down into the Europa League.

The return fixture takes place at the London Stadium on August 25 as West Ham look to join the likes of Manchester United and Southampton in the competition proper.

Team news

Bilic has a number of injury problems to contend with for the visit to Romania, including left-back Aaron Cresswell who is out until November with a knee problem.

The West Ham manager, meanwhile, will also be without the likes of striker Andrew Ayew (thigh), winger Sofiane Feghouli (hamstring), midfielder Manuel Lanzini (knee) and forward Diafra Sakho (back) for the clash.

Match stats

This is the second season in a row that Astra and West Ham have met in Europa League qualifying with the Romanian side knocking West Ham out in the third qualifying round in 2015/16.

The Hammers drew 2-2 in the first leg last season, after being 2-0 up, before losing in Romania to Astra 2-1 a week later.

James Collins was sent off against Astra in the first leg between the two sides in 2015/16.

The Romanian side are unbeaten in six European games at home, including qualifiers (W3 D3).

West Ham have lost five of their last six European games away from home, including qualifiers, winning once against Andorran team FC Lusitans.

Astra have gone six European qualifying games without keeping a clean sheet.

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