Ben & Jarrod Fit

Ahead of what is Hammers most important game in decades David Moyes has been handed an injury lifeline by the declaration of fitness of two vital players. Both Jarrod Bowen AND Ben Johnson will be available for selection to play this evening against Lyon.

The fact that the FA and Premier League have conspired to assassinate Hammers bid for European glory by denying them access to players made available by the Ukraine conflict, has been brushed under the carpet, temporarily at least. David Moyes was none too pleased during his pre-match presser when discussing the fact that tonight's opponents Lyon, have had to deal with no such obstructions from the French FA when it comes to featuring players signed as a result of the conflict.

Nevertheless, having both Bowen and Jonson available is a major boost for the Irons as they look to progress to the Europa League Cup semi finals, where they could face Barcelona. London neighbours Chelsea were given a salient European lesson in the Champions League yesterday by Real Madrid, David Moyes has been keen to stress that this evening's game is the first of two legs and that fan will need to be patient during the game, as he will desperately want to avoid the same fate as Tomas Tuchel's team who now have a mountain to climb as they try to recover from a 3-1 home defeat in their first leg of the tie.

Playing the first of both games at home does slightly disadvantage West Ham, however with the away goals rule scrapped AND the fact that Moyes likes to set his Hammers team up so they can use their 'electric' counter attacking speed to full advantage means that a draw, or heaven forbid even a one goal deficit would not prove to be an insurmountable challenge for the return fixture in France.

The crowd and the players will provide an atmosphere that Lyon are unused to, it is top be hoped that they are 'consumed' by the pre-match show and 'massive' noise from the Stadium. We will have all the team news ahead of the game in our build up to the match. -Ed