While West Ham will not be underestimating their opponents, this is as ideal start as they could have hoped for. Even if Moyes opts to make a number of alterations, the Hammers should have more than enough quality to breeze to victory on Thursday night.
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Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a West Ham United win with a probability of 49.09%. A win for Backa Topola had a probability of 26.61% and a draw had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a West Ham United win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.53%) and 2-0 (8.23%). The likeliest Backa Topola win was 0-1 (6.91%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.47%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 5.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that West Ham United would win this match.
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