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What to expect from West Ham’s friendlies against Ipswich and Wycombe

By Jake Brigstock

West Ham United's Scottish manager David Moyes reacts ahead of the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Southampton at The London Stadium, in east London on February 29, 2020. (Photo by Ian KINGTON / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)
West Ham United's Scottish manager David Moyes reacts ahead of the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Southampton at The London Stadium, in east London on February 29, 2020. (Photo by Ian KINGTON / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images) /
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West Ham revealed how their pre-season will start, with friendlies against Ipswich Town and Wycombe Wanderers announced earlier today following a training camp in Scotland.

Manager David Moyes will lead his team up to his home country next week for an intense five-day training camp before the West Ham plays their first friendlies of pre-season simultaneously.

Moyes will split his team into two groups – one to play at Ipswich Town on Tuesday, August 25 at 2 pm GMT+1, and one to play at Wycombe Wanderers at the exact same time.

Ipswich Town

BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 29: Freddie Sears of Ipswich Town celebrates scoring his sides first goal during the Sky Bet League One match between Blackpool and Ipswich Town at Bloomfield Road on February 29, 2020 in Blackpool, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 29: Freddie Sears of Ipswich Town celebrates scoring his sides first goal during the Sky Bet League One match between Blackpool and Ipswich Town at Bloomfield Road on February 29, 2020 in Blackpool, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images) /

Ipswich Town finished League One in 11th last season after the final table was decided on a points-per-game basis.

Former Premier League manager Paul Lambert is at the helm, and towards the end of last season, mostly lined up with three at the back and a narrow midfield.

But he does like to keep his opponents guessing at times and isn’t averse to changing his style, tactics and formation depending on their opponent.

Although more than four months ago now, Ipswich stumbled towards lockdown curtailing their season, as they recorded four straight league losses in a row to deny them any hope of reaching the play-offs.

Striker Kayden Jackson will be one to watch out for if he plays – the 26-year-old made 32 appearances for the Blues last season, netting 11 and assisting seven. He was involved in more than a third of Ipswich Town’s goals in the 2019/20 season.

Wycombe Wanderers

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 13: Adedbayo Akinfenwa of Wycombe Wanderers celebrates with the trophy after the Sky Bet League One Play Off Final between Oxford United and Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley Stadium on July 13, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 13: Adedbayo Akinfenwa of Wycombe Wanderers celebrates with the trophy after the Sky Bet League One Play Off Final between Oxford United and Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley Stadium on July 13, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

Wycombe Wanderers benefited from League One being decided on a PPG system – as they finished the league in third and secured a play-off semi-final against Fleetwood Town.

Wycombe won the first leg 4-1 away at Fleetwood, before being held 2-2 at home to progress 6-3 to the final on aggregate.

And the Chairboys edged out Oxford United at Wembley to secure promotion to the Championship, the first time they have been promoted to the second tier of English football in their history, winning 2-1.

Manager Gareth Ainsworth likes to line up his side in a 4-3-3 formation, and rarely deviates from starting with that setup.

One man to watch out for could be – you guessed it – the effervescent veteran striker Adebayo Akinfenwa.

After the play-off final, he was over the moon to achieve promotion with the side that believed in him, and he repaid Wycombe with ten league goals and 6 assists in 32 appearances, being involved in more than a third of their league goals; he started just over half of those games too.

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It will be interesting to see how the Hammers kick off their pre-season against two EFL sides who had very different ends to their seasons.