WEST HAM showed great character with 10 men against Lyon in London but now face a tough task trying to topple the French giants in their own back yard as they bid to reach the Europa League semi-finals.
I tipped the Hammers to win that quarter-final first leg but they were left with a mountain to climb when Aaron Cresswell saw red on the stroke of half-time with the score at 0-0.
Despite being a man down they still took the lead through Jarrod Bowen but Lyon managed to salvage a 1-1 draw as Spurs flop Tanguy Ndombele scored on his return to London.
David Moyes' men followed that up with a Premier League defeat at Brentford, a massive setback in their bid to claim a top-four finish and a place in next season's Champions League.
But West Ham can still secure a seat at Europe's top table if they win the Europa League and it would be foolish to write them off against a Lyon side who have been maddeningly inconsistent this season.
Peter Bosz's men have won just once in their last six games in all competitions, with four of those matches ending in draws. Despite boasting some impressive firepower, a lack of cutting edge has cost them of late and they need to rediscover a killer instinct to dump the Hammers.
How the bookies view it
Home advantage makes Lyon hot favourites to reach the semi-finals at a best 4/7 with Coral while West Ham are as big as 8/5 with 888Sport. For a win on the night, Lyon's price is much better at 8/7 with SBK while the Hammers are 35/13 (VBet) and the draw 13/5 (Bet365).
Head to head
That tense first-leg draw (below) was the first meeting of these teams in European competition.
Players to watch
Lucas Paqueta caught the eye for Brazil at the Copa America in the summer and is a player who rises to the big occasion, with his last two goals coming against Porto and PSG. The playmaker is 45/17 with SBK for a goal and 7/2 with Unibet for an assist.
Bowen scored after I flagged him up in the first leg but I'm going to switch to Michail Antonio here. The big striker's power and pace could cause Lyon problems on the break and he's 31/10 with 888Sport for anytime scorer.
Anything else catch the eye?
I tipped West Ham in the corner market for the first leg and they ended up winning more than Lyon despite playing half of the game with 10 men. So the 21/20 on offer at BetVictor for West Ham +1 in the corner handicap here looks decent value while SkyBet offer 2/1 on Moyes' men winning the most corners.
West Ham have problems in defence, with Cresswell suspended and centre backs Kurt Zouma and Michael Dawson injury doubts. If they fail to make it then there could be some value in backing over 1.5 Lyon goals at 23/20 with Unibet.
The score was level at half-time in the first leg and there's a good chance of a repeat here, with that bet paying 6/5 at Bet365.
This UEFA Europa League match between Lyon and West Ham will be played on Apr 14, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Lyon vs West Ham prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
