West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell has said that he is confident of his side's chances against Birkirkara in their Europa League second round qualifying tie.

The Hammers will head into the second leg of their match with the Maltese club on Thursday with a 1-0 lead, thanks to a late strike from James Tomkins at Upton Park.

"We're confident going over there, but we know it's not going to be easy at the same time, especially travelling over there in different surroundings," Cresswell told the club's official website.

"You'd imagine they'd have a different approach for the second leg, obviously being 1-0 down.

"They are the home team, but we'll go there, play the same game and try to get through to the next round."

West Ham have never reached the group stages of the Europa League.

Written by
Alex Meyers