UEL Quarter-Final: West Ham vs Leverkusen Odds
Dream Week for Leverkusen
Newly Crowned Bundesliga Champions Head to London
Bayer Leverkusen won their first ever Bundesliga title in style. The German champions clinched it five weeks early and defeated Werder Bremen 5-0 last Sunday. Now, they’ll look to remain unbeaten for a 44th straight match when they take on West Ham in the second leg of the Europa League Quarter-Final on Thursday. Last week, Bayer Leverkusen won 2-0 in Germany and will be looking to complete a double over West Ham. We’ll preview the West Ham vs Leverkusen odds as the visitors can make more history here.
West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen
Date, time:
Location: London Stadium, London, England
West Ham vs Leverkusen Head-to-Head
Last week, West Ham and Bayer Leverkusen met for the first time. Hosts Leverkusen absolutely dominated the Hammers as they outshot their guests 33-1 and won 2-0. It did take quite a while for Bayer Leverkusen to get on the scoresheet, though, as the breakthrough didn’t come until the 83rd minute. Off a corner, a deflected shot found its way to Jonas Hofmann, who volleyed into the goal. Victor Boniface scored a header off of a Hofmann cross to double Leverkusen’s lead heading into the second leg. The West Ham vs Leverkusen odds listed Bayer as -235 favorites for last week’s match.
West Ham Missing Paqueta
West Ham are 0-3-6 when Lucas Paqueta doesn’t start this season. That’s especially relevant, given the Brazilian midfielder is suspended for this one due to yellow card accumulation. He did start in Sunday’s match vs. Fulham in the Premier League but the Hammers couldn’t get the job done at home. Fulham came away with a 2-0 win as Andreas Pereira scored twice in a London Derby.
Along with Paqueta, left back Emerson is also suspended for Thursday’s match. Leading scorer Jarrod Bowen is also dealing with a back injury which could keep him out. Kalvin Phillips and Alphonse Areola also remain doubtful with injuries. Things don’t look great for West Ham but their recent Europa League scores at home have been excellent. They’ve won all four of their home matches in the UEL this season and their last 11 in European competition overall.
Heading into the Europa League Round of 16 second leg down 1-0 to SC Freiburg, the Hammers turned the fixture around. Mohammed Kudus scored twice as West Ham took down Freiburg 5-0. West Ham have done quite well in Europe under David Moyes, as they won last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League. However, key absences are threatening them here and they’re playing the hottest team in Europe.
German Champions Leverkusen Wanting More
There were wild scenes at the BayArena on Sunday as Bayer Leverkusen finally won their first Bundesliga title. When Florian Wirtz completed his second half hattrick, and put Leverkusen up 5-0 vs. Werder Bremen in the 90th minute, the referee blew the final whistle and the crowd rushed the field to celebrate with the players. Leverkusen’s season has been nothing short of remarkable and Xabi Alonso deserves a ton of credit.
When the Spaniard took over as Leverkusen coach 18 months ago, they were in the relegation zone. Now, they’re on course for one of the best ever seasons by a European team. If they’re able to avoid defeat on Thursday, they’ll break Juventus’ record for most consecutive games unbeaten by a club in a top five European league. Many Europa League predictions also have Leverkusen winning the Final, especially since Liverpool fell 3-0 to Atalanta in the first leg of the Quarters.
Currently, the Europa League odds list Bayer Leverkusen as +110 favorites to win their second European trophy. With the Bundesliga in the bag, Leverkusen can focus on the Europa League and the DFB-Pokal in their pursuit of the treble. Adam Hlozek is out for the visitors but he’s only played sparingly this season. Expect Alonso to name a strong lineup for Thursday’s game.
West Ham vs Leverkusen Match Analysis & Odds
West Ham are on a long winning streak at home in European competition but they’re certainly vulnerable at the minute. The Hammers’ midfield doesn’t have the same balance and creativity without Paqueta in it. Plus, if Bowen can’t play, it’s unclear where West Ham are going to get their offensive spark from. At the moment, the West Ham vs Leverkusen odds price the hosts as +265 underdogs.
Don’t expect Leverkusen to rest on their laurels and the oddsmakers have them as -105 favorites. A draw would be more than sufficient for Bayer Leverkusen and one is priced at +285 odds. With Victor Boniface healthy for Bayer Leverkusen, they have more attacking depth and danger.
Under three goals come in at -120 odds and Bayer Leverkusen haven’t conceded in any of their last four games. Interestingly, West Ham +0.5 sits at -125 but they don’t exactly match up well with a full strength Bayer Leverkusen team.
