Eyebrows might have been raised when David Moyes handed his West Ham players two days off at the start of this week.

It was hardly the orthodox response to a 5-0 pasting, particularly not coming from a manager considered to be among the last of the old school. Then again, having laid the blame for his side's embarrassment at the door of a hectic schedule and the fatigue it has inspired, he could hardly have had his players running laps of Rush Green.

Any respite, though, has not lasted long, with the Hammers back in action tonight and Moyes facing a Catch-22 of sorts.

Already safely through to the knockout stages of the Europa League, the West Ham boss might under different circumstances have been tempted to give his main men the evening off as Freiburg visit London Stadium.

Lucas Paqueta, for instance, has been playing through injury in recent weeks but still started five games in 16 days after the international break, while neither Tomas Soucek nor Nayef Aguerd has missed a minute across the same period. James Ward-Prowse has started every Premier League and European game since arriving from Southampton.

But with a point still needed to secure top spot in Group A, Moyes knows losing against the Germans would only create a bigger problem down the track, adding an extra two matches to the calendar in the form of a knockout play-off in February.

It is an unfamiliar state of jeopardy for the Hammers, who have had the group wrapped up heading into the final matchday in each of their two previous European campaigns. Moyes used both a home dead-rubber against Dinamo Zagreb two years ago and the trip to Romanians FCSB last season to blood a host of the club's youngsters.

The expectation tonight, however, is that Moyes will ask his senior players to go to the well once more, wary of the threat posed by Freiburg side who hammered Olympiacos 5-0 last time out and have been beaten only by the Hammers in this season's competition.

"I don't really prioritise games," the Scot said yesterday. "I look at the next game. I have always said that the Premier League will be first and foremost for me, but the cup competitions have become pretty special for us.

"We've been to a semi-final and won a final, and we're now seeing these cup competitions as something we must take as seriously as we can."

The conclusion of the Champions League group stage last night confirmed the scale of the challenge that could await Moyes's side should they fail to top their group, with the runners-up guaranteed to face a drop-out from the elite competition. For all the glamour such a tie would bring, you suspect they would sooner avoid a clash against AC Milan or Benfica at this stage.

"The games are coming thick and fast as well, and so we'll try and prepare and get the players ready," Moyes added. "We'll put out a team that we think can go and win each game, and we'll try to do that against Freiburg, too."