Former West Ham defender Lars Jacobsen has called Viborg FF 'solid' and warned his former club not to underestimate the Danish opposition.
A place in the UEFA Conference League group stage is up for grabs and the Hammers have one foot through the door after securing a 3-1 first-leg win at the London Stadium. But David Moyes' side make the trip to Viborg Stadium Centre on Thursday night, looking to secure their place in the competition via the play-offs.
Jacobsen played under Moyes at Everton in 2008 before later moving to east London two years later where he spent a season at the club, failing to help the club stay in the Premier League under Avram Grant.
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A return to Denmark with FC Copenhagen was next on the cards and since retiring in 2016, Jacobsen is now the assistant with Danish side HB Koge. Providing insight into Viborg, Jacobsen said that they recently beat FC Copenhagen and warned West Ham to take Thursday night's opponents seriously.
“They are a solid team,” said Lars on West Ham's website. “They went up to the top division two seasons ago and they performed well last season.
“The Danish League is different to many others. Halfway through the season you divide the season into two, top six and bottom six. Viborg went into the bottom six and the winners of that competition go into a play-off against the fourth or fifth team in the top tier. Viborg won their game so qualified for the Europa Conference League.
“Obviously West Ham are huge favourites, there is no doubt about that, but Viborg are well managed and well trained. They have some offensive Dutch players in their squad who are decent. They beat FC Copenhagen, who are by far the best team in Denmark, a couple of weeks ago so they are not a team you should underestimate.
“I think it will be a good place to go for West Ham in the second leg. Viborg play in a compact stadium and the travelling will not be too bad. West Ham should definitely go through but don’t expect it to be a walkover.”
Jakob Bonde Jensen scored at the London Stadium to give his side a lifeline heading into the second leg. Gianluca Scamacca scored his first goal for the club while Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio added goals on the night.
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