Silkeborg vs. West Ham Betting Tips: Tight contest anticipated over in Denmark

West Ham will look to make it two wins from two and a maximum six points in their 2022/23 Europa League Conference campaign when they make the journey to Denmark for Thursday's clash with Silkeborg.

Kent Nielsen's men managed to end a four-game streak without a win over the weekend which included a 1-0 defeat to Anderlecht in the Danish side's UECL debut last Thursday. But that could just be a case of papering over the cracks for SIF who have undergone five losses in their last eight matches across all competitions.

Meanwhile, for West Ham, things may not be going too well domestically, but Europe appears as though it could offer some solace following a 3-1 victory over Romanian outfit FCSB during gameweek 1 of this very competition.

As highlighted prior, the Hammers have yet to really get going. Before the Chelsea fiasco, David Moyes' side looked to have finally gotten their wheels in motion for the new season, picking up four points from their two most recent outings, including a first 22/23 PL win over Aston Villa and a draw at home to capital rivals Tottenham.

Just one defeat from the last four is still a solid foundation of which to build upon, and the East Londoners will feel invigorated by their 100% record in this competition when landing in Denmark. Add to that the undefeated status that Moyes' men boasted in last term's Europa League group stages - winning two of their three matches away from home - and the PL outfit will be confident approaching this one.

Five of these fixtures have seen under three goals scored between both teams, including their aforementioned victory over AVFC at Villa Park. And while the two UECL outings they've experienced so far have resulted in over three goals both times, this encounter poses an entirely different test for West Ham.

Silkeborg is the destination for their first UECL game away from the London Stadium, and there's every reason to believe it'll be a tight affair. To touch on fresh ground, eight of SIF's 12 matches have seen fewer than three total goals, going on a current three-game consecutive streak for this unders line landing.

Neither will want to concede the first goal on Thursday and although West Ham undoubtedly possess more quality than their Danish counterparts, the circumstances of such a European game - coupled with a rousing home crowd - can go a long way in stifling a visiting team's effectiveness in a head-to-head like this.

This two-legged bet is as short as 23/20 with BetVictor, so we'll side with the best price on the market which is 3/1 with bet365 for West Ham to win and there to be two or fewer goals in the match.

West Ham may be the joint-third most disciplined team in the Premier League according to yellow cards shown so far, but European encounters can often make these sort of statistics redundant.

With Tomas Soucek missing the Hammers' UECL opener last week following an injury in the Chelsea game, it's touch-and-go whether he will feature at all in Denmark. Should he miss out, we can expect ready-made replacement Flynn Downes to retain his place in their midfield.

Downes made his second switch in as many years over the summer, joining the Premier League club from Swansea City for a fee reported to be in the region of £12m. That sort of price tag carries a lot of weight, even in a frivolous market. And a lot of that expectation will be from the 23-year-old himself, who looks to lay claim to a permanent spot at his new home.

Last term in the Championship, the defensive midfielder received 10 bookings from 37 appearances, committing a third-highest fouls tally among his teammates with 41 for the season. More interestingly, 6/10 of these came on his travels, clearly indicating that he feels a certain responsibility on the road to step up and be counted, doing whatever it takes to bring home the points for his employers. He definitely isn't known for his strong discipline.

In what is likely to be a dogged affair in Denmark, Downes is the type of player who will grab the game by the scruff of the neck to make a good impression in his second outing for West Ham. A number of scenarios, such as the visitors enjoying the lion's share of possession and the home team hitting them on the break, could result in him stepping up and taking one for the team by way of a booking.

The price disparity on show here - William Hill going as short as 7/5 for a Downes card - is too good to pass up, and we'll take this as our second bet.

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