West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen Match Analysis & Prediction
18/04/2024 10:00 pm
Proudly sporting their Bundesliga winners’ medals, Bayer Leverkusen now seek to finish the job in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against West Ham United on Thursday night.
The newly-crowned German champions strolled past David Moyes’ side 2-0 in last week’s opening match, although their hosts already have one comeback win over a Bundesliga outfit under their belt in 2024.
The one-man wall of Lukasz Fabianski repeatedly kept Bayer Leverkusen at bay at the BayArena on April 11, but the former Arsenal man – who made nine saves on the night – could only hold out for so long before the Werkself pressure told.
None of Leverkusen’s starters managed to breach West Ham’s backline, but substitutes Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface both struck in the final 10 minutes to propel the Bundesliga winners to a win that their remarkable 33-shot tally thoroughly deserved.
However, the London Stadium faithful are unlikely to be holding out hope of another second-leg turnaround if Sunday’s showing against Fulham is anything to go by, as an Andreas Pereira brace condemned the Hammers to another 2-0 defeat, where Fabianski was again the sole reason that the Cottagers did not chalk up more.
Boasting just one win from their last six matches across all competitions during an inconsistent run of form, West Ham also have just two victories to show from 10 home games in 2024, and they have been knocked out of their last two European ties when losing the first leg by at least two goals.
The Europa Conference League champions can take significant encouragement from an 11-game home winning run in continental matches, but such statistics may pale into triviality against the irrepressible juggernaut of Bayer Leverkusen, who will don a gold Bundesliga badge on their shirt sleeves for 2024-25.
After a handful of other head coaches announced their decision to leave their posts at the end of the season, the highly sought-after Xabi Alonso reaffirmed his commitment to Bayer Leverkusen and is now reaping the rewards of his loyalty, helping Die Werkself conquer the German football scene for the very first time.
Leverkusen’s inaugural Bundesliga title was sealed in typically ruthless fashion at the weekend, where a Florian Wirtz hat-trick, quintessential Granit Xhaka thunderbolt and Boniface penalty secured a 5-0 thrashing of Werder Bremen, thus ending Bayern Munich’s 11-year dominant run in the top flight.
However, celebrations would have quickly died down for Alonso and co, as Leverkusen’s bid for a 14th European progression from 14 ties in which they have won the first leg by multiple goals, and they arrive in the English capital with their unbeaten record for 2023-24 incredibly still intact.
From their last 43 matches across all competitions, Leverkusen have rejoiced in a magnificent 38 wins – including their last eight in a row – alongside five draws, although a blockbuster semi-final with Roma or AC Milan will be West Ham’s reward should they spoil the Werkself party on home turf.
West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen Head to head
Bayer Leverkusen have won each of the two previous encounters between these two teams, scoring six goals without conceding.
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05/08/2023Bayer Leverkusen4West Ham United0Club Friendlies
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11/04/2024Bayer Leverkusen2West Ham United0Europa League
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18/04/2024N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
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18/04/2024N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
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18/04/2024West Ham UnitedN/ABayer LeverkusenN/AEuropa League
West Ham Team News
West Ham’s defeat at the weekend was overshadowed by a worrying head injury to 19-year-old top-flight debutant George Earthy, who had only been on the field for eight minutes before coming off worse in a collision with teammate Edson Alvarez.
Earthy has since been discharged from hospital but is sure to sit out this match alongside Kalvin Phillips (thigh), Alphonse Areola (groin) and Jarrod Bowen, whose back issue is still giving him grief.
West Ham's Last 5 Matches
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30/03/2024Newcastle United4West Ham United3Premier League
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02/04/2024West Ham United1Tottenham Hotspur1Premier League
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06/04/2024Wolverhampton Wanderers1West Ham United2Premier League
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11/04/2024Bayer Leverkusen2West Ham United0Europa League
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14/04/2024West Ham United0Fulham2Premier League
Bayer Leverkusen Team News
Leverkusen’s only fitness concern on Thursday is in the shape of striker Adam Hlozek, who is likely to miss the next couple of weeks with an ankle issue, but he has not been sorely missed by any stretch.
Alonso should bring fearsome full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo back into the starting lineup, while Exequiel Palacios could be a straight swap for Robert Andrich in the centre.
Bayer Leverkusen's Last 5 Matches
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30/03/2024Bayer Leverkusen2Hoffenheim1Bundesliga
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03/04/2024Bayer Leverkusen4Fortuna Dusseldorf0DFB Pokal
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06/04/2024Union Berlin0Bayer Leverkusen1Bundesliga
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11/04/2024Bayer Leverkusen2West Ham United0Europa League
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14/04/2024Bayer Leverkusen5Werder Bremen0Bundesliga
West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen: Odds and Predictions
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