An eye-catching encounter awaits when Bayer Leverkusen travels to London to face West Ham United for the second leg of their 2023/24 UEFA Europa League quarter-final.
West Ham United welcome Xabi Alonso’s pass-masters a week after the first leg as they seek to advance to a semifinal against one of AC Milan or AS Roma.
Last season’s Europa Conference League winners are meeting Leverkusen in a competitive meeting for just the second time and they must take on plenty of information ahead of this home tie.
West Ham’s stellar attack and recent European pedigree makes them a dangerous opponent and they are familiar with German opponents having defeated Freiburg in the Round of 16. The Irons topped Group A after five wins from six and they are eyeing a run to another European semifinal this term.
West Ham started the campaign with a draw and three victories before losing successive games to Manchester City and Liverpool. There were three more defeats over their next five league games but the Hammers turned it around with three wins and a draw from the next four.
However, they suffered a heavy London derby defeat against Fulham who ran riot with a 5-0 victory. West Ham then kept clean sheets in their final three league games of 2023 during which they also beat Manchester United and Arsenal.
The Hammers failed to win any of their first eight matches of the New Year which included a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United and a 6-nil at home to Arsenal. Moyes’ side struggled in the absence of key players and it was not surprising that their turnaround coincided with the return of Lucas Paqueta in the 4-2 win over Brentford.
A second-half comeback against Everton was just what the doctor ordered but they suffered defeat at the hands of Freiburg in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie. West Ham then responded with a resounding five-goal victory to cruise into the Last Eight of a UEFA competition for an unprecedented third consecutive season.
The key for the Hammers will be ensuring they are well in the game for the second leg and then make home advantage count against an unbeaten team.
They will fancy their chances of going all the way in this competition and could potentially spoil the ‘dream’ Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen final that will see Klopp go against his likely successor.
The Bundesliga leaders have maintained an undefeated streak in all competitions this season and they must get past West Ham in what is shaping up to be a campaign of unthinkable success.
Leverkusen stormed through Group H with a 100% record against the likes of Qarabag, Molde, and BK Hacken before battling hard to overcome Qarabag 5-4 on aggregate thanks to a late winner in the Round of 16.
Xabi Alonso has overseen a wonderful turnaround from also-rans to leading the title charge this term, a summer of smart spending saw them recruit key additions. This set them up for a four-match winning streak to start the season as they also asserted their dominance in the Europa League group stage.
The goals kept flying in and the wins kept coming as Leverkusen did not draw a match again until against Borussia Dortmund in December. As all of Germany found a way to stop Alonso’s winning machine, the rest of the world truly took notice after they demolished Bayern Munich 3-0.
The resumption of the UEL knockout stage saw Qarabag go close to ending their unbeaten run, until Patrik Schick’s 92nd-minute leveller for 2-2. The Azerbaijani champions went close to repeating the trick a week later but the Czech striker denied them a fairytale by popping up with a brace in added time to win the second leg 3-2.
Leverkusen are already 20 points better off than their points total from the whole of last season as they sit 10 points ahead of Bayern Munich with eight matches to go. They can still complete a sensational treble but they have handled each game of this remarkable streak as it comes.
Die Schwarzroten are seemingly unbreakable and their momentum would be very difficult to handle by West Ham. Yet, the Hammers have relevant experience in navigating these European knockout games.
The West Ham crowd will be very vocal in support of their team which would only add to the intensity and intrigue of the match.
Match tickets
The second leg of this UEFA Europa League Quarter-final takes place on Thursday, 18 April 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 8 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on the website of both clubs with allocation guaranteed for only season ticket holders and registered, eligible members.
The London Stadium is a magnificent edifice fit for this massive game and it is a sure sell-out with over 60,00 people expected to fill the stands. Leverkusen fans will be desperate to not miss out so the search for tickets may be complicated.
We urge fans still looking for West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen tickets to make their search on a ticket resale site.
Team news
Emerson, Mohammed Kudus, and Maxwel Cornet are the only West Ham casualties at the time of writing but they could all be available for the second leg.
Arthur, Victor Boniface, Jonas Hofmann, and Exequiel Palacios are currently on the Leverkusen injury list but it remains to be seen how many of them could be back available for this match.
Line-ups
Moyes has a group of trusted lieutenants who are capable of doing the job against just any team. Their counter-attacking threat is massive as they would look to spring Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, and Michail Antonio on quick breaks courtesy of passes from Lucas Paqueta.
West Ham: Fabianski; Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Bowen, Kudus, Paqueta, Antonio
Florian Wirtz is the jewel in the Leverkusen crown with his three goals and four assists in Europe this term and he is key to unlocking the West Ham backline.
A return for Victor Boniface ahead of this tie could also be crucial as the Nigerian striker will provide a big boost for his team who have missed his multi-faceted attacking threat.
Bayer Leverkusen: Kovar; Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba; Grimaldo, Palacios, Xhaka, Frimpong; Adli, Iglesias, Wirtz
Prediction
Leverkusen may be the darling team on the continent right now but West Ham have proven their mettle in the latter stages of European Cup competitions. This throws up an interesting face-off as the visitors are high on confidence in their ability to win football matches, but West Ham must exert caution to hurt their opponents.
This should be a fascinating watch from start to finish, expect West Ham’s experience to shine through.
West Ham 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
