Dutch police warn West Ham fans as 5000 head to Holland for AZ Alkmaar decider
s many as 5,000 West Ham fans are set to travel to Holland, as the Hammers look to reach their first European final in 47 years.
West Ham go to AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night leading 2-1 from the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final.
The club has an away allocation of just 975 at the 19,500-capacity AZ Stadion, five times fewer than the number expected to make the trip, and Dutch police have warned fans without tickets not to travel to the ground.
Local authorities are laying on buses to take West Ham fans from the city centre to the stadium and back to Alkmaar’s main train station post-match.
Many Hammers fans are expected to stay in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, 40km south of Alkmaar, before travelling in by train for the match.
West Ham were due to train at Rush Green this morning before flying to Holland, where boss David Moyes is due to provide an update on Michail Antonio’s fitness this evening.
Antonio sustained a minor calf injury after scoring the winner in the first leg and missed Sunday’s trip to Brentford as a precaution, but the striker is expected to be fit, as West Ham bid to reach a first Euro final since the 1976 Cup-Winners’ Cup defeat by Anderlecht.
Moyes made nine changes to his team for the 2-0 loss to the Bees, but — if Antonio is fit — could reverse all of them, although Angelo Ogbonna is pushing to start alongside Kurt Zouma after Nayef Aguerd was at fault for both goals at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The winner of the tie will meet either Basel or Fiorentina in the final.
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