West Ham welcome Sevilla to London Stadium in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie in 2021-22 UEFA Europa League.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, West Ham must simply win and score at least twice to stand any chance of reaching the Quarter-Finals.
Sevilla meanwhile know that victory or a draw would be enough to see them through to the last eight.
Team News
Michail Antonio is a huge doubt for West Ham after suffering a hamstring injury in Sunday’s Premier League win over Aston Villa.
Aaron Cresswell (ankle) and Nikola Vlasic (knock) are also doubtful but the pair could face a late fitness test ahead of the match.
Jarrod Bowen (heel) and Vladimir Coufal (hernia) are unlikely to be risked unless club doctors are confident of their fitness following late checks, whilst Angelo Ogbonna (knee) remains absent.
Sevilla could welcome Ivan Rakitic back into contention after he missed the first leg through illness.
Karim Rekik (muscle) is a doubt but Fernando, Suso (both ankle), Erik Lamela (shoulder), Papu Gomez (muscle), Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel (both hamstring) aren’t expected to feature in this match.
Stat Attack
- West Ham lost their only previous meeting against Sevilla, losing 1-0 in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie last week.
- Sevilla have avoided defeat in three of six previous away visits against English opposition in all UEFA competitions (W1, D2, L3), during which they only managed one clean sheet.
- West Ham have won each of their two previous home matches against Spanish opposition across all UEFA competitions.
- Sevilla have scored just once in four away games in all UEFA competitions this season (D2, L2).
- David Moyes’ Hammers have scored five goals and conceded just once in three home matches in this season’s Europa League (W2, L1).
Prediction
Despite facing a Sevilla team without several key players last week, West Ham simply weren’t clinical enough but delivered an excellent attacking display in Sunday’s win over Villa complete with strong defensive pressing which they realistically need to replicate here.
Sevilla meanwhile have that one-goal lead and know this competition inside-out so I am expecting them to come out fighting to kill this tie off early, yet if West Ham get the first goal then Sevilla could face tough pressure as the Hammers chase a cupset.
The outcome of this match consequently feels like it could come down to who gets the opening goal because West Ham will be keen to build on their first leg effort with an early goal, whereas Sevilla’s away form in Europe this season is poor but they’re a difficult team to beat.
Although my instinct says Sevilla should edge this, I have a feeling that West Ham could spring a surprise if they play like they did on Sunday and Sevilla remain without several key players again.
Prediction: West Ham 2-0 Sevilla
Result: West Ham 2-0 (AET) Sevilla (West Ham win 2-1 on aggregate!!)
Leave a Reply