West Ham’s maiden adventure into the Europa League group stage is upon us, with the all-important draw to be made on Friday morning (11:00 BST).

The 32 teams that have qualified for the group stage have been split into four pots of eight and one from each pot will go into each of the eight groups A-H. Pot one is made up of seeded clubs, and the other three pots are determined by UEFA’s club coefficient rankings.

For the Hammers, it’s a first venture into Europe since their toes were tipped into the qualifying stages of the competition back in 2016 – when Romanian champions Astra Giurgiu emerged victorious 2-1 on aggregate.

West Ham find themselves in pot three, with their co-efficient based on a five-year ranking, and that could land the club a couple of plum draws, most notably against the likes of Lyon, Lazio and Napoli, as well as Celtic and Rangers from a domestic point of view.

The club are unable to be drawn against Leicester at this stage, with Brendan Rodgers‘ side exempt from coming up against West Ham despite being in pot two.

Here’s a run down of best and worst case scenarios for David Moyes and his players.

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West Ham fans could be clocking up the air miles in pot one, though there are eight possible opponents to be drawn against.

Lyon, Napoli and Lazio perhaps have the biggest reputations – currently, at least – and would represent a relatively short journey across the continent. The same can be said for potential clashes against Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco and Braga, while slightly more fuel will need to go into the tank in order to fly out to either Olympiacos or Dinamo Zagreb.

In terms of who’s best to face, it’s tricky – Dinamo or Olympiacos are arguably the weakest of the sides, but would the Hammers prefer to test the metal of Braga instead? Probably. In terms of who to avoid, it has to be Napoli – they have a side littered with world class players and should really be competing in the Champions League.

Potential clubs: Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen, Dinamo Zagreb, Lazio, Olympiacos, Monaco

Best case scenario: Braga

Worst case scenario: Napoli

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Things don’t get a whole lot easier in pot two, but the good news is that West Ham are more than capable of beating any of these sides.

Celtic and Rangers are the obvious standout possibilities, but there’s also some potentially tricky ties away at Red Star Belgrade and Lokomotiv Moscow. In terms of recent European pedigree, however, PSV Eindhoven are the ones who are regularly in the Champions League, and have featured in the latter stages of the knockout rounds.

A game against Eintracht Frankfurt would spark the first playing of the ‚we used to have Sebastien Haller derby‘, but it’s Genk who David Moyes and his players have the best chance of convincingly beating.

Potential clubs: Celtic, Eintracht Frankfurt, Red Star Belgrade, Rangers, Lokomotiv Moscow

Best case scenario: Genk

Worst case scenario: PSV Eindhoven

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Pot four is where the air miles begin to tot up, with West Ham potentially heading over to Austria, Poland, Turkey or Hungary.

Galatasaray aren’t the force they once were but they remain a daunting and hostile proposition, and it’s likely that FC Midtjylland and Brondby could give the Hammers a good game.

If the club could choose anyone to face it would likely be Royal Antwerp of Belgium, but West Ham have a good chance of overcoming a few sides in this pot both home and away – provided they bring their A-game.

Potential clubs: Rapid Wien, Legia Warsaw, FC Midtjylland, Ferencvaros, Sturm Graz, Brondby

Best case scenario: Royal Antwerp

Worst case scenario: Galatasaray

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As is traditional, the group stages of the Europa League get underway in mid-September, concluding in the first week of December.

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