Hammers ready for Europa League opener

Slaven Bilic is confident West Ham are ready for their Europa League opener on Thursday.

West Ham face NK Domzale in the third qualifying round first leg on Thursday evening with their early introduction to the Europa League resulting in a reduced pre-season schedule.

They warmed up for the game with a 3-0 win over Karlsruher SC in Austria on Saturday and with just over two weeks before their begin their Premier League campaign against Chelsea, Bilic is pleased with how preparations for the season have gone.

Although he will be without a few players for the game in Slovenia, the Hammers boss is confident his team can 'expect good things' if they continue to work hard in training.

"We are happy with our preparations. We have done everything that we wanted to do, but still we have to make a balance in our preparations to compromise some things because the competitive games don't start on 15 August, they start on Thursday," Bilic told the club's official website.

"It's not ideal but I'm really pleased with the way we've trained. We are still expecting a few players to come back, those who have been playing in the European Championships.

"If we continue to work hard like this, with dedication and humility, we can expect good things."

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