West Ham United prepare for their first European semi-final in over 40 years as they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the London Stadium in the first-leg. The Irons will be eager to have the advantage before heading to the Deutsche Bank Park as they seek to secure their first European final since 1976.
The Hammers are the favourites in this tie at 10/11 with Betfred while their Bundesliga opponents are 11/4 and a draw is 23/10. Frankfurt are only the fourth side to reach the Europa League semi-finals still unbeaten with two of the previous three lifting the trophy (Villarreal last season and Chelsea in 2018/19) with Liverpool missing out in the 2016 final.
David Moyes will not be underestimating his opponents in a hurry after they managed to see off Barcelona, who were favourites to win this year's contest, in the last round thanks to a win at Nou Camp. No doubt extra measures will be in place to stop 30,000 Frankfurt fans getting tickets to the home leg but I doubt many West Ham fans will want to miss this clash.
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Frankfurt, meanwhile, will be looking to keeping their European form intact despite a dismal Bundesliga run which has ruled them out of a place in Europe next season from a league perspective anyway. Their hopes of European football next season hang in the balance as they can finish no higher than eighth in their league after going on a six-match Bundesliga winless streak and picking up just two wins in their last 10 league outings.
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Team stats
Both sides in matches involving West Ham have scored in 26 from 50 matches in all competitions this season including two from 10 in the Europa League. For Eintracht Frankfurt, it is 29 from 42 in all competitions and nine in 10 in the Europa League. Both teams to score is 8/11.
The Irons have finished 24 matches in all competitions with three or more total goals including three in Europe while Frankfurt have finished 19 matches in all competitions with three or more goals including five in Europe. Over 2.5 goals is 10/11.
Players to watch
Jarrod Bowen and Declan Rice have certainly put in the performances in this season but have especially stepped up when it matters in Europe too. Bowen's goals have made the difference in all competitions on so many occasions including his winner against Lyon in the last round while Rice has accomplished three goals in eight Europa League appearances from the middle of the park too.
Frankfurt's main threat from Serbian winger Filip Kostic with the former Stuttgart player producing five assists in the Europa League so far this season - more than any other player.
H2H
This will be the third time these two sides would have met in their history and the first time in 46 years since they met in the European Cup Winners Cup back in 1976 which West Ham won 4-3 on aggregate including a 3-1 at home. Frankfurt took the 2-1 home leg lead to Upton Park before a brace from Sir Trevor Brooking settled the tie to give the Hammers a trip to the final against Anderlecht.
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