The Europa League quarter final are fast approaching and West Ham will want to advance to a third successful European semi final, however they face a huge challenge as they face none other than Bayer Leverkusen, a team that hasn't lost all season. Can David Moyes work his way around Xabi Alonso's masterplan and snatch a result or is West Ham just another team waiting to be bested by Germany's league leaders?
West Ham, coming off the back of a 1-1 draw against rivals Tottenham, will certainly come into the game with not the highest confidence. West Ham have only won 3 games in 2024 in all competitions, in 16 games. The hammers are also scoring an average of 1.6 goals per game, whereas they are conceding 1.8 goals a game at the same time. They have struggled in the games they have been expected to where they have drawn to teams like Sheffield, Burnley and Bournemouth. However, they did thrash Freiburg 5-0 in the second leg of the RO16, overturning a 1-0 deficit to reach the QFs, which Leverkusen will want to be wary of. West Ham are not messing about in Europe, and they haven't for a while. Even when West Ham were not performing well in the Premier League lat year, finishing 14th and being in a relegation scrap for the majority of the season, they still came out winning the Europa Conference League. West Ham always seem to perform better in the European games, having not lost in 17 until losing to Olympiacos in the Groups Stages. Moyes stands on business in Europe and put the rest of the continent on watch.
The last time Leverkusen lost a competitive game was the 27th May 2023. That was 314 days ago. Since then, they have stayed unbeaten, in all competitions, and are 13 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. They are also scoring 2.5 goals per match, whilst conceding 0.7, and collecting 2.7 points per game in the league. The stats suggest it all. Leverkusen are the most unstoppable force in Europe right now, and West Ham fans were dreading a tie against them. Players like Wirtz, Grimaldo and Frimpong have been leading the charge, with 28 goals between them, and 24 assists. They were tried and tested to their very limit by Qarabag in the last round, who were 4-3 up on aggregate by the 93rd minute. But Leverkusen are just allergic to losing right now. 2 late goals saw them soar into the hat for the next round and who knows how far they can go. Arguably their most testing game in the Europa League yet, can they knock the hammers out the way, or will it be easier said than done?
Who knows, Moyes' counter-attacking football may just nick a result. Leverkusen are due a loss, right?
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