11.
21:13
The first noteworthy conclusion belongs to the Black and Reds. Nathan Tella has a clear shot, takes the shot from 21 meters and hits the ball extremely well. However, Łukasz Fabiański can clear this pound for a corner, which then does nothing.
10.
21:12
Wirtz looks for Schick, but Zouma blocks the ball directly into the feet of the 20-year-old, who then sends Palacios over to the right. But his cross into the penalty area is set too high and doesn’t find a teammate.
8.
21:11
Matěj Kovář doesn’t see a suitable pass point, but he doesn’t want to just knock the ball away either. He therefore quickly lets the onrushing James Ward-Prowse out with a body deception while dribbling. This can also backfire. However, it doesn’t in this scene.
5.
21:07
Yellow card for Odilon Kossounou (Bayer Leverkusen)
Kossounou misses the ball when receiving the ball, whereupon Ward-Prowse is there and wants to initiate a counterattack. Kossounou unpacks the scythe and sees the early yellow card, which of course there can be no two opinions about.
4.
21:06
The Londoners attacked early and put the Werkself under pressure from the start. But the newly crowned master can solve the problem in a playful way. However, it is already a completely different game than in the first leg.
1.
21:02
Kick-off at the London Stadium. The Hammers play in their burgundy and light blue home colors. The guests from the Rhineland are dressed in white today. Let’s go.
1.
21:02
Game start
20:31
Incidentally, last Thursday’s first leg was the only meeting between the two clubs so far. While the Londoners have already won three European competitive games against a Bundesliga club in 2023/24 alone (all against SC Freiburg) and have a total of four wins from the last four home games against German clubs, Leverkusen’s away record in the motherland of football reads anything but good. The Werkself have only won one of their last ten international away games against an English club (two draws, seven defeats).
20:24
It is clear that Londoners have to show a completely different face. West Ham only fired a single shot in the first leg last Thursday, while the Werkself took a whopping 33 shots at the Irons’ goal. The difference of 32 shots has never occurred between two teams since the introduction of the Europa League in the 2009/10 season.
20:15
However, West Ham United have an impressive home record to their name. The Hammers, who won the Conference League last summer, have won all of their last 11 home games in European competition. In seven of the eleven games they managed to win by at least two goals. There has to be a two-goal difference tonight to at least force extra time.
20:07
Looking at the raw numbers, the Werkself don’t have much to fear today. Leverkusen have won the first leg of a knockout phase 13 times by a difference of at least two goals. Without exception, the Rhinelanders always made it to the next round. Overall, the Black and Reds are currently unbeaten in ten competitive games in the Europa League (eight wins, two draws).
19:58
Xabi Alonso, who ordered his players to take a break after the 5-0 win against Werder Bremen in order to properly celebrate this historic triumph, but at the same time announced that the team still wants more, is rotating in six positions compared to Sunday’s game against Weserelf: Palacios , Stanišić, Wirtz, Schick and Grimaldo are preferred over Hofmann, Andrich, Adli, Tapsoba and Boniface (all five bench). In addition, Europa League keeper Kovář is once again guarding the goal for Hrádecký (also on the bench).
19:54
Let’s start off by taking a look at the lineups that were just released. After the guest game in Leverkusen, West Ham also lost a London derby against Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday 2-0 in front of their home crowd. Coach David Moyes is making four changes to his starting eleven today: Aaron Cresswell, Jarrod Bowen, Tomáš Souček and Kurt Zouma start today for Danny Ings (bench), Lucas Paquetá (suspended), Emerson and Konstantinos Mavropanos (both not in the squad).
19:46
Bayer 04 Leverkusen made history on Sunday and celebrated the first championship title in the club’s history ahead of schedule. The Black and Reds, who also reached the final of the DFB Cup and have one foot in the semi-finals of the Europa League, still have big goals. Tonight it’s about taking the comfortable 2-0 lead from the first leg over the stage. But: West Ham United have already hit back in the round of 16 against SC Freiburg after a 0-1 first leg defeat with a brilliant 5-0 home win.
Hello and welcome to the game West Ham United – Bayer Leverkusen! The live ticker for the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Europa League starts just in time before the game starts.
