WEST HAM UNITED have left themselves with a mountain to climb when they reconvene with Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League at the London Stadium on Thursday night.
The Hammers' semi-final hopes are hanging by a thread following a 2-0 loss in Germany last week, on a night where my BayArena Bet Builder banked.
David Moyes' men have since been booed off the pitch by their own supporters following a lacklustre display when losing 2-0 at home to Fulham on Sunday.
Back at their London base on Thursday night, West Ham have plenty to overcome if they are to derail the Bayer Leverkusen juggernaut.
Xabi Alonso steered his side to a first-ever Bundesliga title on Sunday with a 5-0 whacking of Werder Bremen, a triumph that brought an end to Bayern Munich's 11-year reign as champions of Germany.
That latest victory also means Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten run this season now stands at a staggering 43 games, and they will be eager to extend that streak by earning another victory in East London this midweek.
Outright Betting
West Ham have won all four of their Europa League home games this season, but they are 27/20 (Ladbrokes) underdogs to win inside 90 minutes on Thursday. The stalemate is also considered unlikely at 3/1 (Betfred).
Bayer Leverkusen are even-money favourites on Betfred to claim top honours from this week's return match in the English capital.
Betting Angles
Bayer Leverkusen will have their backers at evens (Betfred), but I'm going to opt for another Bet Builder and combine Bayer Leverkusen Double Chance, Bayer Leverkusen to Score & Edson Álvarez to commit a foul at 4/5 (Bet 365).
The newly crowned Bundesliga champions should go into this game fresh, as Alonso opted to rotate his squad in the aforementioned 5-0 stroll to victory against Werder Bremen on Sunday.
West Ham, by contrast, will be unable to call upon suspended duo Emerson Palmieri and Lucas Paqueta, not to mention top-scorer Jarrod Bowen is set to miss this week's second leg due to injury.
With that in mind, I'm prepared to back Bayer Leverkusen to avoid defeat at the London Stadium, but to bolster the odds, I'll also back the visitors to strike against a West Ham side that have leaked at least one goal in 17 of their last 18 matches in all competitions.
To close out the 4/5 (Bet 365) Bet Builder, I'll go with West Ham's Edson Álvarez, who was unavailable last week due to suspension, to commit a minimum of one foul during this week's second-leg showdown.
The hard-hitting Mexican midfielder has racked up a whopping 15 cards across all competitions this season and is averaging 1.8 fouls per game in the Europa League this term.
Given how unreliable West Ham have been at the back in recent months, I'm also prepared to side with Bayer Leverkusen to score two or more goals here at 17/20 on William Hill.
The Hammers will have to force the issue at some point so they could leave themselves open at the back, and Bayer Leverkusen possess the firepower to take full advantage.
This UEFA Europa League match between West Ham United and Bayer Leverkusen will be played on Apr 18, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham United vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
