After battling back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw against Burnley on Sunday, you’d have expected West Ham boss David Moyes to have been happy with the result in the end, especially as they equalised in injury time. He wasn’t though, instead citing poor officiating for the fact his side didn’t win the game, and that winning mentality will again be needed here as the Hammers bid to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit in this UEFA Europa League last 16 tie against Freiburg.
That leaves West Ham with a tricky task in this second leg, but with 13 wins from their last 16 home matches in Europe (D1, L2), the London Stadium seems the perfect place to overturn their deficit. History should reinforce their belief too, as of the six occasions where West Ham have lost their first leg of a European tie away from home, they’ve advanced thanks to home success in five.
Freiburg’s warm-up for this crunch clash was slightly better than West Ham’s, as they won 2-1 away from home against Bochum. In spite of victory, the Breisgau Brazilians remain seven points adrift of the European spots in the Bundesliga, so some may argue their most realistic chance of gracing the continental stage next season comes by winning this competition.
Before they get caught up on lifting the trophy in May, there’s the small matter of progressing in this tie, something they know isn’t a foregone conclusion given they lost 2-0 on this ground earlier this season in group stage action. A repeat result here would see them eliminated, but having lost just five of their last 16 European away matches (W6, D5), they have more than a fighting chance to progress.
Players to watch: Lucas Paquetá started West Ham’s comeback against Burnley, but three of his four club goals before that were game openers, including one against Freiburg in the group stage. Proficient from the spot should the game go all the way, Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo has netted a whopping eight penalties this season, six of which arrived before half-time.
Hot stat: West Ham have conceded as many goals in their last three home matches (ten) as they did in the 14 such games prior.
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