Will the Hammers turn the match in their favor?

The battle for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League will be decided this week. The round of 16 second legs in this competition will take place on Thursday evening. We take a look at the clash between West Ham United and Sevilla FC.

The guests have been presenting themselves in good form for weeks and were hardly to be defeated in the last games. Especially the defense of the Andalusians made a very stable impression in the last duels and is the best that Spanish soccer currently has to offer. Nevertheless, the red and white take the underdog position for the time being. The bookmakers offer odds of 3.50 for betting on the southern Spaniards in the match West Ham vs Sevilla. This is justified by a series of seven games without a win at the opponent’s place.

Things have not gone well for the hosts so far in March. After three defeats across all competitions, the first success was achieved only last weekend. It remains to be seen whether the Hammers will regain their form early enough to hold their own against the Spaniards. Cracking the defensive bulwark will not be an easy task. Kick-off at the Olympic Stadium is at 21:00.

West Ham – statistics & current form

About sixth place in the last season, the Hammers qualified for the UEFA Europa League. Here, the Bordeaux reds faced Dinamo Zagreb, Rapid Vienna and KRC Genk in the group stage and ultimately proved to be the strongest team in Group H.

The Londoners were the group winners before the final matchday and qualified directly for the round of 16 in this competition. In the end, the men from the East End picked up 13 points and were ahead of the Croats at the top of the standings. The team’s defense was particularly convincing. The Irons conceded just three goals in their six group games and suffered only one defeat against Zagreb, when head coach David Moyes’ side had already secured top spot in their group.

West Ham end losing streak last Sunday

March got off to an unsuccessful start for the Hammers. They lost their first three games across the competition. At Southampton FC, the Bordeaux reds flew out of the FA Cup with a 1:3 defeat. It wasn’t until last weekend that the Moyes eleven regained the necessary confidence to hold their own against the strong Spaniards with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.

However, the bookmakers are not very optimistic and make the prediction in the match West Ham against Sevilla that it is over for the English in the round of 16. The odds for the Bordeaux reds to advance are 2.75 at the top.

The Hammers are fighting for an international starting spot again

The Londoners are currently placed sixth in the Premier League table. After 29 completed games, the Irons have 48 points on the credit side. However, this place is being contested by Spurs, who have two more games to play. Anything between fifth and eighth place is still possible for the hosts this season. It remains exciting.

In the league, the home side impresses more with its strong offense. With 48 goals, the Hammers have the fourth-best attacking lineup in the Premier League. Will they manage to overcome the strong defense of the Spaniards?

Predicted lineup of West Ham:
Areola – Johnson, Zouma, Dawson, Cresswell – Soucek, Rice, Lanzini – Fornals, Antonio, Benrahma

Last matches played by West Ham:

Premier League
03/13 2022 – West Ham 2 – 1 Aston Villa

Europa League Final Stage
03/10 2022 – Sevilla FC 1 – 0 West Ham

Premier League
03/05 2022 – Liverpool FC 1 – 0 West Ham

FA Cup
03/02 2022 – Southampton 3 – 1 West Ham

Premier League
02/27 2022 – West Ham 1 – 0 Wolverhampton

Sevilla – Statistics & current form

About fourth place in the last season, the Andalusians qualified for the Champions League. In Group G with Lille, Salzburg and VfL Wolfsbirg knew the red and white but too rarely convince. So it was ultimately only third place behind the French and the Austrians and thus the qualification for the sixteenth final of the Europa League.

Only a single victory was achieved in the group stage in the 2-0 win over the Wolves. This was mainly due to the weak offensive performance. Only five goals were scored in the six games. In the Europa League, the southern Spaniards were up against Dinamo Zagreb. A 3-1 home win set the stage for head coach Julen Lopetegui’s side to progress.

Sevilla with just one defeat from their last eleven games

The 1-0 defeat in the second leg is the only defeat Sevilla have suffered in their last eleven competitive matches. Otherwise, there have been six draws and four wins. In the Copa del Rey, the Andalusians were eliminated from the competition in the city derby against Betis with 1:3.

In the league, things have been going extremely well for the red and whites so far. With 56 points from 28 games, the visitors are the closest rivals to leaders Real Madrid. However, the gap is already ten points and it will be damn hard to reach the royals yet. But at least the Champions League qualification is within reach again this year.

The southern Spaniards with convincing defense

The strength of the Andalusians lies in the defense. In the championship, the Lopetegui eleven conceded only 19 goals, the fewest in the entire LaLiga. This is the basis of their success and the reason why they have only lost two league games this season. The Red and Whites have conceded more than one goal only once this year.

Building on this stable defensive line in front of keeper Bono, the jump to the quarterfinals should be made clear. The oddsmakers offer odds of 3.50 at the top for the match between West Ham and Sevilla.

Predicted lineup of Sevilla:
Bono – Navas, Kounde, Gudelj, Augustinsson – Rakitic, Torres – Delaney, Jordan, El Hassadi – Mir

Last matches played by Sevilla:

La Liga
03/13 2022 – Rayo Vallecano 1 – 1 Sevilla FC

Europa League Final Stage
03/10 2022 – Sevilla FC 1 – 0 West Ham

La Liga
03/04 2022 – Deportivo Alaves 0 – 0 Sevilla FC

02/27 2022 – Sevilla FC 2 – 1 Real Betis

Europa League Final Stage
02/24 2022 – Dinamo Zagreb 1 – 0 FC Sevilla

West Ham – Sevilla Direct comparison / H2H balance

The first leg between these two teams was the first ever meeting. In the end, the Spaniards deserved to win 1-0 with a goal from Munir El Haddadi. 56% possession, 22:9 shots on goal and 6:3 corners illustrate the superiority of the Andalusians.

However, the bookmakers see good chances for the hosts to still turn the game around. In the match West Ham vs. Sevilla, the predictions of the bookmakers go in the direction of a success of the Hammers. Due to the abolished away goals rule, we expect an offensively minded team from London.

West Ham – Sevilla tip

We expect an extremely exciting match this Thursday between the Hammers and the Spanish representatives from Andalusia. The visitors go into the match with a razor-thin 1-0 advantage, which they will have to defend. The bookmakers are offering odds of 1.43 at the top for the Red and Whites to progress in the West Ham vs Sevilla match. We are a little surprised that the guests are so clearly favored.

The hosts came back into the fight for the international places last weekend. Just in time for the round of 16 match, the Bordeaux reds ended a streak of three consecutive defeats across the competition. Now David Moyes’ eleven face the task of overcoming the stable defense of the southern Spaniards at least once.

We assume that the English will have to prepare for a game of patience. The guests will try to keep the zero at the back and the home side will have 90 minutes to stop this plan. We do not expect a flood of goals and recommend betting on a duel with less than 2.5 goals in the match West Ham vs. Sevilla

We think that the teams are absolutely on a par and that the Hammers have a chance to turn the match around. Therefore, for us in the match West Ham against Sevilla, at betting odds of 2.75, the bet on a progress of the Irons is a promising alternative.