Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham: Betting Odds & Prediction

West Ham travel to Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening.

After winning the Europa Conference League last season, West Ham will be looking to win back-to-back trophies in Europe. Leverkusen will look to bring their brilliant league form, which sees them top of the Bundesliga, into the latter stages of this competition. Kick-off is set for 8pm UK time.

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Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen have been one of Europe’s most impressive sides this season, as they look on course to be the first side to dethrone Bayern Munich in Germany since 2012. Leverkusen won the previous round of the competition 5-4 on aggregate against Qarabag FK. They were 4-2 down on aggregate with 20 mins to go but Jeremie Frimpong’s goal started the comeback, before an injury time double from Patrick Schick secured passage to the quarter-finals. 

Leverkusen will look to translate their impressive league form, which sees them unbeaten in the league this season, into European success. In the league this season, Leverkusen have won 86% of their games, whilst having an impressive 50% clean sheet rate.

Leverkusen are unbeaten in the Europa League this season, having won all of their games in the group stages, scoring 19 goals and only conceding four. Leverkusen’s impressive Europa League campaign has seen them average three goals a game, whilst only conceding 0.88 per game. Their attacking output has been impressive in Europe, as they have the fourth highest shots per game this season in the competition with 17.4.

Leverkusen have a number of dangerous players in their squad. The return of striker Victor Boniface will be a huge boost for Leverkusen. He came off the bench at the weekend for Leverkusen and has 16 goals and eight assists in 24 appearances this season. Florian Wirtz has also starred for Leverkusen, having scored 14 goals and provided 14 assists from midfield this season. Full-back Jeremie Frimpong has also been very impressive, having scored 12 goals and provided seven assists.

West Ham United

West Ham have enjoyed an impressive Europa League campaign this season, having qualified thanks to their Conference League triumph last season. West Ham won 5-1 on aggregate against Freiburg in the last round of the competition, despite losing the first leg away 1-0.

They have been in mixed form as of late in all competitions though, having won only two of their last five. In that time, West Ham have shown defensive frailties, particularly their 4-3 defeat against Newcastle which saw them lose after going 3-1 up. Jarrod Bowen has been the main danger man this season for The Irons, having scored 19 goals this season, but he has been ruled out of this game after coming off injured against Wolves at the weekend.

David Moyes' side have been in good form in Europe this season, though. Defensively they have been very sound, having only conceded five goals in their eight games. West Ham topped Group A after picking up 15 points from 18, averaging a solid 1.88 goals per game whilst only conceding 0.63.

West Ham have a number of key players that could propel them to victory. Mohammed Kudus has been clinical in Europe so far, scoring five goals in as many games. Lucas Paqueta has also been very impressive in midfield, having scored ten goals and providing seven assists this season. Fellow midfielder James Ward-Prowse has been key to West Ham, having scored six and assisted twelve in all competitions. 

Prediction

Leverkusen have seemed unstoppable at times this season, and their impressive unbeaten run will mean that this is a tall task for West Ham. Though the Hammers have looked strong in Europe, they have shown vulnerabilities this calendar year and come up against a side yet to lose in all competitions this year. 

The home side have had little trouble finding the net in both domestic and European fixtures, and while there can be little value in backing them on the moneyline, we expect them to see plenty of goalmouth action in this one. 

OddsNow's Pick: Over 2.5+ goals scored (7/4 @ PaddyPower)