Europa League: Leverkusen’s Treble Quest Continues

West Ham United vs Bayer Leverkusen

Newly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen are back in Europa League action on Thursday when they head to the London Stadium to take on David Moyes’ West Ham United in a quarterfinal second leg tie.

Xabi Alonso has just led Die Werkself to their first silverware in 30 years, and I doubt it will be their last trophy of the 2023–24 campaign. After beating the Hammers 2-0 in the first leg, Leverkusen are in the box seat, particularly as their hosts fell to a home loss to Fulham on Sunday while Alonso’s team is unbeaten in 45 matches.

Following Liverpool’s loss at home to Atalanta last week, the Europa League 2024 betting odds have installed Bayer as hot favourites to lift the trophy, and they have a DFB POKAL final against Kaiserlautern to look forward to as well.

And I just can’t see the Hammers upsetting the party on Thursday. 

Talking Points

What next for the German Champions?

They are the Bundesliga winners for the first time in their 120-year history, but, as Alonso has pledged he will still be in Leverkusen next season, I doubt it will be their last.

Unbeaten in all competitions and seemingly on their way to a historic treble, this is a campaign beyond their wildest expectations last August. But having ended FC Bayern’s 11-year reign at the top of the Bundesliga, Die Werkself have announced themselves as one of Europe’s powerhouses.

Bayer Leverkusen’s coronation as Kings of Germany has been a long time coming, and it was a spectacular sight when their triumph was confirmed in a 5-0 drubbing of Werder Bremen as Florian Wirtz scored a sensational hat-trick.

The 20-year-old is now one of the hottest properties in world football, but he is just one of a number of superstars Alonso has moulded into a winning team.

This is a superbly balanced team with the strength of Granit Xhaka and the flair of Wirtz, amongst some other brilliant performers, including wide man Alex Grimaldo and striker Victor Boniface, who has 18 goals in all competitions.

This is a team to be taken seriously in the 2024-25 Champions League.         

Hammers home discomforts

West Ham’s loss to Fulham on Sunday meant that David Moyes’ side has won just two of its last ten games at the London Stadium in all competitions, drawing six and losing two. The lack of home form has seen them drop out of the Premier League top seven, and the signs are not good for their task against Leverkusen, a must-win match against a seemingly unbeatable team.

They are Europa Conference League champions, but West Ham fans must fear this year’s European adventure is about to end, particularly as they will be without top scorer Jarrod Bowen, sidelined with injury, alongside defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips, and Moyes will also be without the creative muscle of Lucas Paqueta, who is serving a suspension after he picked up a booking early in the first leg.

Defender Emerson is also banned for this game, and that news will have alerted Boniface, Wirtz, and co., particularly as the Hammers have picked up just one clean sheet in 18 games. 

Summer recruit Mohammed Kudus, with five goals, is West Ham’s top scorer in the competition, and in the absence of Bowen, he is the host’s biggest goal threat. Up until last week’s loss to Leverkusen, West Ham’s Europa League 2024 results have given their fans hope that they can repeat their European success of 2023, but that looks a long way away right now.

History

These two teams have only met twice: last week in the first leg in Germany and then at the start of this campaign, in a friendly match, which Leverkusen won 4-0.

Hammers coach Moyes has gotten the better of Die Werkeslf in the past, managing Manchester United to a double over Bayer at the Champions League group stage ten years ago. 

But this time around, Moyes is coaching the heavy underdogs. Bayer are unbeaten in their last 21 away games, and in their last six matches, they have won all six, scoring 17 goals and conceding just three, while the Hammers have won one, drawn two, and lost three, scoring seven goals and conceding 11. 

Betting Tip

Bayer are at SBOTOP odds of 1.89 to win this second leg, while their hosts are priced at 3.20 and the draw is 3.24.

I suspect the visitors will win the leg, but they don’t have to, and there is the slightest risk they will still be in a celebratory mood, subconsciously. One thing I am confident of is goals. The Hammers have to go for it, and Leverkusen have racked up a whopping 123 this season, only failing to score once in 42 fixtures. 

 

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