Europa League/Europa Conference League preview: Huge night for West Ham, Rangers and Leicester

We’ve reached the semi-finals of the Europa League and Europa Conference League and it promises to be a huge Thursday night for the three British clubs involved.

West Ham and Rangers are both competing in the Europa League, while Leicester are in the last four of the Europa Conference League, and we’ve previewed their games below.

West Ham v Eintracht Frankfurt

West Ham welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the London Stadium on Thursday night for the biggest game in the club’s recent history. Not since 1976 have the Hammers last been in a major European semi-final, while they are aiming to claim a first European trophy since 1965. When you add to the mix the Champions League spot that the Europa League winners take home with them, then the stakes couldn’t be much higher for West Ham.

While David Moyes’ side’s Premier League form has let them down of late, having picked up just one point from their last three games to see their top-four hopes all but over, it’s been a different story in Europe. The Hammers have overcome Lyon and Sevilla in the past two rounds of the Europa League – huge results against teams that have plenty of Champions League experience in recent decades.

That’s why West Ham will believe they can beat anybody in the competition when taking on Eintracht Frankfurt, and it’s reflected in the fact they are the 10/11 favourites to win the first leg and 1/2 to reach the final. Frankfurt sit just ninth in the Bundesliga, but did beat Barcelona in the last round of the Europa League. A draw at 5/2 would be a good result for them and they are 6/4 to reach the final.

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RB Leipzig v Rangers

It’s also a huge night for Rangers, who are looking to reach their first major European final since 2008, when they lost the UEFA Cup final to Zenit St Petersburg. They do, however, face tougher opposition in the form of RB Leipzig, who are fourth in the Bundesliga and are the 11/10 favourites to win the Europa League.

Like West Ham, Rangers will take confidence from the teams they have beaten on their way to the semi-finals of this competition. They’ve knocked out Red Star Belgrade and Braga in the last two rounds, but more impressively, they eliminated Borussia Dortmund before that. Such a result shows nothing is out of the question for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men, while they have goals in them in Europe this season, with no team having bettered their Europa League haul of 19.

It’s RB Leipzig, though, who are the favourites for this one and are priced at 4/11 for a home victory. Rangers will fancy adding to their goal tally and would no doubt be satisfied taking a draw back home to Ibrox for the second leg. Both teams to score and the first leg to end as a draw is 11/2.

Leicester v Roma

It’s been a funny season for Leicester. After challenging for a top-four spot in the previous two seasons, they now look set for a midtable position. They also crashed out of the Europa League at the group stage, yet they are now in their first ever European semi-final. It may only be the Europa Conference League, but going all the way from here would turn this into a memorable campaign for Foxes fans and for Brendan Rodgers.

After a run of poor results earlier this season, Leicester have now lost just once in their last eight games. In Roma, however, they face formidable opposition fighting for Champions League qualification in Serie A. And they also possess a manager in Jose Mourinho who knows a few things about what it to takes to win a European trophy.

Leicester are the slight favourites for victory at 6/5 due to their home advantage, with Roma 2/1 and a draw priced at 11/5.

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