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West Ham will have to be more serious against Astra

West Ham saved themselves from elimination at Malta with better penalty kick efficiency, but if they don't want to be eliminated against Romanian Astra, then they will have to be more motivated and play more seriously than in the previous two rounds, and Astra's president promise 3000 Euro bonus to his players if they advance

Newcastle United

West Ham from London went through the first two Preliminary Rounds against Lusitanos from Andorra and Birkirkara from Malta with underestimation and without serious motivation, but there was no football justice for them to be eliminated at Malta. They pulled through by being better at penalty kicks, but a 0-1 defeat against Birkirkara in 120 minutes of game is definitely embarrassment they can't run away from. 

Of course, Slaven Bilic and West Ham players will found the early start of the season as an excuse, because it doesn't fit into their plans, but there is certain competition integrity that needs to be respected. But in time without criteria and responsibility for anything, it is hard to ask anything more than the pragmatic truth that the end justifies the means. 

In the third Preliminary Round, West Ham are facing Romanian Astra, and we have to wait and see if they will try any harder, because the Romanians are a serious team, full of international players who see the trip to London as a great motivation to prove themselves. 

- We have to handle the situation and there are no more excuses. Maybe these early European nights are not ideal, but they can always reveal the true nature of every player - explained West Ham's coach Slaven Bilic, who will today probably put in the game, for the first time, his two Summer acquisitions, playmaker Payet and center back Ogbonna, but Obiang and Lanzini are still under question. Forwards Sakho and Carroll and defender Reid are injured, while Tomkins is suspended because of a red card at Malta. 

- The Romanians are a good team and club, they invested a lot of money in players. Last year they eliminated Lyon and they are definitely still dangerous. These could be interesting games - Bilic is careful, and he believes that his team is in much better shape now because the Premier League starts in 10 days. 

- We don't have a first and reserve team, we try to create balance so that fit players get to play. Of course we want to win tonight and achieve the best result possible ahead of the return fixture - Slaven Bilic pointed out. 

The draw for Europa League qualifications brought another visit to the British Isles for Romanian Astra, but the trip to London for a match against West Ham is far more demanding that an away game against Scottish Inverness. 

The only goal in the matches against Inverness was scored by Budescu at the start of the first match, and there were no goals in Romania. In the first three rounds of the national championship, Astra's defense wasn't as solid as it was in the European matches, they conceded eight times, and Sumudica's team earned one win, one loss and a draw. 

 Coach Sumudica previewed the match against West Ham:

- I hope my players will recover for the West Ham match, because it is important to be physically rested against them since they are a team that could ground us. We are aware what kind of players we are playing against just by looking at their value and their earnings. The difference is clear since our budget is around 4 million, and theirs around 100 million Euros. We will face 35.000 most fanatic English fans which means it will be difficult. We will go there to work and run for every ball, figuratively speaking, we will try to die on the pitch in order to give our best performance. 

Astra are a real legionnaire team, which was clear in the matches against Inverness. Sumudica included three Portuguese and Brazilian players, and Japanese midfielder Seto in the starting lineup. 

Since there are no problems with injured players, except for longer absent forward Alibec, we assume that they will not be making any significant changes to the starting lineup, and the club's president promised each player a 3000 Euro bonus if they eliminate West Ham.