Will the Hammers’ away woes continue?
The decisive rounds in the European competitions are upon us. On Thursday, the second legs in the quarter-finals will be played in the Europa League. Olympique Lyon from France and the English side West Ham United are two teams that can be expected to make it to the semi-finals.
OL has been one of the big clubs in Europe for years, almost decades. Their place in the quarter-finals comes as no surprise to Peter Bosz’s team. After all, Lyon also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League two years ago, where they were beaten by the eventual winners Bayern Munich. The French certainly have what it takes to win the Europa League this year.
The same is always true for all English teams in this competition. West Ham United may only play sporadically on the international stage, mainly due to the huge competition in the Premier League, but coach David Moyes’ squad features some top-class players. Therefore, before the second leg between Lyon and West Ham United, a prediction on the winner of this duel is quite complicated.
Lyon – Statistics & current form
The Europa League is perhaps Olympique Lyon’s best chance to be represented internationally in the coming season. Peter Bosz’s team has been knocked out of the Coupe de France and there is not much going on in Ligue 1. OL is currently only in tenth place in the rankings. After all, they are only five points away from fifth place and participation in the Conference League. With seven games left to play, that’s still a lot to make up.
Hard to beat, but not enough wins
The Lyonnais’ form can be viewed from two angles. On the one hand, there has been only one defeat in the last eight competitive games. For five games, Peter Bosz’s eleven is unbeaten. However, there have also been four draws in the last five games. Still, this sounds more like the odds should be on for the French to progress between Lyon and West Ham.
Lyon hosted Racing Strasbourg in Alsace last weekend. Once again, they were unable to pick up a win. Already after 20 minutes the home side took a 1:0 lead. In addition, Peter Bosz had to make several changes due to injury. In the final minute, the efforts were rewarded when Karl Toko Ekambi finally equalised the score at 1-1.
There is a question mark over whether regular keeper Anthony Lopes, Houssam Aouar and above all Tanguy Ndombele will play. But Peter Bosz has already given the all-clear. At least all three players should make the squad. Sinaly Diomande, Ryan Cherki and especially Maxence Caqueret will not be able to play on Thursday.
Predicted Lyon line-up:
Lopes – Henrique, da Silva, Denayer, Dubois – Ndombele, Aouar – Toko Ekambi, Lucas Paqueta, Tete – Dembele – Coach: Bosz
Last matches played by Lyon:
Europa League Final Stage
15/04/2022 – Lyon 0 – 3 West Ham
Ligue 1
10/04/2022 – Strasbourg 1 – 1 Lyon
Europa League Final Stage
08/04/2022 – West Ham 1 – 1 Lyon
Ligue 1
03/04/2022 – Lyon 3 – 2 Angers
20/03/2022 – Reims 0 – 0 Lyon
West Ham – Statistics & current form
Last season, the Hammers qualified for the Europa League in sixth place in the Premier League. This season, David Moyes’ team is again playing very stable. They are currently ranked sixth. The return to international competition is within reach, even if the end of the season still seems a long way off.
Away nothing goes
The Hammers have squandered a better starting position in recent weeks, especially away from home. In the last five away games, there have been five defeats across the competition. If the Londoners continue their series in France, then the forecast for the clash between Lyon and West Ham should be for a home win.
Last week, they suffered a 2-0 away defeat at a strong FC Brentford. Somehow, the Hammer seem to be a different team away from home. It is clear that they cannot afford a defeat in Lyon on Thursday, because then their journey in the European Cup would be over and who knows when West Ham will qualify for an international competition again.
The English will be missing at least two players on Thursday in Lyon. Centre-back Angelo Ogbonna will continue to be unavailable due to a cruciate ligament tear. Aaron Cresswell was shown the red card in the first leg last week and will be suspended in France. Kurt Zouma was substituted injured at Brentford last weekend. His involvement should be at least questionable.
Predicted West Ham line-up:
Fabianski – Cresswell, Diop, Dawson, Coufal – Soucek, Rice – Fornals, Lanzini, Bowen – Antonio – Coach: Moyes
Last matches played by West Ham:
Europa League Final Stage
15/04/2022 – Lyon 0 – 3 West Ham
Premier League
10/04/2022 – Brentford 2 – 0 West Ham
Europa League Final Stage
08/04/2022 – West Ham 1 – 1 Lyon
Premier League
03/04/2022 – West Ham 2 – 1 Everton
20/03/2022 – Tottenham 3 – 1 West Ham
Lyon – West Ham Direct comparison / H2H record
Although West Ham United now rarely feature in international competitions, the Hammers have a strong history in the European Cup. In 1965, the Londoners won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in the final against 1860 Munich. Those were very different times from those we know in football today.
Lyon and West Ham have only met once before. The first time the two clubs crossed paths was last week in London. Aaron Cresswell was shown the red card at the break and yet West Ham took a 1-0 lead through Jarrod Bowen shortly after the change. After just over an hour, Tanguy Ndombele scored to make the final score 1-1.
Lyon – West Ham Tip
Olympique Lyon have only lost one of their last eight games. However, there have also been four draws in the last five games. Therefore, Peter Bosz’s team has forgotten how to win a little bit in the last matches.
We think that both teams will go into this match cautiously after the 1-1 draw in the first leg, especially since the away goals rule no longer applies. Therefore, we don’t expect many goals to be scored and especially not in the first period. Therefore, we can imagine that you could be right with a bet on less than 1.5 goals in the first half in the duel Lyon vs West Ham.
As far as the outcome of the match and progress is concerned, we are leaning more towards the French, which is mainly due to the English side’s current away weakness. The Hammers have lost five times in a row away from home. Therefore, we have decided to play the betting odds on a home win between Lyon and West Ham.
