Ok, the team news is in for West Ham and the major surprise is that Emerson Palmieri is preferred to Aaron Cresswell at left-back, with the Englishman dropping to the bench.

Cup goalkeeper Alphonse Areola starts between the sticks, Vladimir Coufal is picked ahead of Thilo Kehrer at right-back and Said Benrahama gets the nod over Pablo Fornals as the attacking pivot.

Declan Rice captains the side in surely his final game for the club.

West Ham XI: Areola, Coufal, Aguerd, Zouma, Emerson, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma, Antonio

On Wednesday, West Ham United fans all over the country will spend the day somewhere between utter anxiety and outrageous optimism, preparing for the chance to win their first major trophy since 1980.

The Hammers face Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final, a little over a year on from making the semi-finals of another European competition and falling just short. This time, there’s real optimism over them going the distance and lifting silverware, a moment which would be truly unique for a generation of supporters.

Among them will be a certain Carlton Cole, striker for the Hammers for close to a decade from 2006 to 2015, now a coach within the Academy setup - and still very much someone hoping the club go the distance this time.

The memories of last year and being close enough to touch a final appearance will spur the side on, but nothing can be taken for granted at this stage, he says.

Karl Matchett’s exclusive interview with ex-Hammers striker Cole:

Thilo Kehrer has urged his team to write their names into the West Ham history books by winning the Europa Conference League final – and believes a squad bonding trip to Portugal can help them on their way.

The Hammers face mid-table Serie A side Fiorentina in Prague on Wednesday night with the aim of lifting their first major piece of silverware for 43 years.

The 1980 FA Cup was their most recent major trophy while their solitary success in Europe was clinching the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965.

Kehrer is determined for West Ham to finish the job at the end of a rollercoaster season that produced a 14th-placed finish in the Premier League.

David Moyes admitted it was “surreal” to walk out at the Eden Arena in Prague preparing for his first European final, the “biggest moment” of his career.

The 60-year-old, who began his managerial career with Preston in 1998, is yet to lift a major piece of silverware, the Community Shield with Manchester United in 2013 notwithstanding.

Moyes is looking to become the first British manager since Sir Alex Ferguson, the man he replaced at the then champions, to lift a trophy, and join the former United boss in the pantheon of great Scottish managers in the English game.

A group of black-clad Fiorentina fans attacked Hammers supporters in a bar in central Prague on Wednesday afternoon, injuring three patrons, authorities said.

Videos on social media showed fans setting off flares and throwing tables at the bar located just off Prague’s Old Town Square. A police officer was also attacked.

“Italy fans attacked West Ham fans in a bar on Rytirska street, injuring three,” Czech police said on Twitter. “A police officer was also attacked. We have restricted the personal liberty of 16 people.”

The likes of Declan Rice and Michail Antonio are aiming for the first major trophies of their careers, while as a club the Hammers are hoping to end over four decades of waiting to see silverware lifted with their ribbon colours attached.

Fiorentina finished in the top half of Serie A this season so will present a huge test - West Ham came 14th in England - but La Viola have themselves gone more than 20 years without a big trophy too.

In Prague, one of those clubs will end their long waits and their fans will have a celebration for the ages; the other will be left to wonder what might have been, and have to get ready to do it all again next year.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the final.