Europa League preview: West Ham hoping to get the job done in France

Another week of Europa League action is upon us as we prepare for the second legs of the quarter finals.

We take a look at this week’s fixtures below.

Lyon v West Ham

A goal from Jarrod Bowen saw 10-man West Ham hold Lyon to a 1-1 draw in London. It was a creditable draw for the Hammers given they had to play the whole second half with 10 men and they’ll be hoping to go one better on Thursday. Lyon are in mixed form, having drawn four of their last five in all competitions and sitting a rather disappointing 10th in Ligue 1. West Ham have enjoyed a good season so far and will be happy in sixth in the Premier League, above the likes of Manchester United, however their disappointing 2-0 loss to Brentford last weekend was the third away league defeat in a row and seventh in 11.

Lyon go into this fixture as 11/10 favourites with West Ham slight outsiders at 5/2 and a draw priced at 12/5. Lyon striker Moussa Dembele has only managed to find the back of the net once in his five Europa League games so far but is priced at 6/5 to change that while Bowen, 11/4, will hope to continue his stellar run of form with a goal at the Parc Olympique.

Lyon have only failed to score in one of their previous 28 matches in the Europa League, finding the net in every home game since their 2013-14 quarter-final against Juventus. West Ham, on the other hand, have lost to nil in each of their last three knockout stage away games in major European competition. Lyon have been priced at 12/5 to win to nil on this occasion.

Rangers v Braga

The first leg was the third meeting between these two clubs and the first time Rangers have been defeated by Braga, having won the first two meetings in 2019-20. It was a pretty drab performance from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s side, failing to register a single shot on target for the first time in a major European game since 2009. They should go into this game with restored confidence after a comfortable 4-0 league win over St Mirren last weekend. Braga are a side in form, having won their last four matches and seen off Monaco in order to make it to the quarter final.

Predicted to be a close affair, Rangers are favourites at 19/20, with a draw priced at 12/5 and Braga slight outsiders at 29/10.  All eyes will be on Aaron Ramsey, who has scored six goals in his 12 Europa League starts, all of them coming for Arsenal. His last home start saw him net the opener in their 2-0 win against Napoli in 2019. He’s been priced at 21/10 to score anytime.

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Barcelona v Eintracht Frankfurt

The first leg saw Frankfurt hold Barcelona to a 1-1 draw in an exciting game featuring goals for both sides, a penalty ruled out by VAR and a red card. Barcelona are in fantastic form being undefeated in their last 15 matches, while Frankfurt have failed to win in their last six, scoring just four goals in the process.

Barcelona go into this fixture as heavy odds-on favourites, priced at 2/5. Frankfurt are substantial outsiders at 13/2, with a draw 19/5.  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be looking to extend his run of goalscoring form having scored four in his last four league matches following his January transfer from Arsenal. He’s 8/13 to do just that. Memphis Depay will also be itching to get in the scoresheet and is also odds-on to do so at 4/5.

Atalanta v RB Leipzig

A fixture that was always forecast to be finely balanced, Atalanta’s closely fought contest with RB Leipzig ended in a 1-1 draw in the first leg.  Leipzig have looked good either side of the fixture having beaten Dortmund 4-1 and then Hoffenheim 3-0. Atalanta have never lost a home match in the Europa League/ UEFA Cup in 11 previous matches. Three of these have come against German opponents.

We can’t separate the two, with both being priced at 8/5 to take the win and a draw 12/5. Luis Muriel has contributed eight goals in seven starts in the Europa League across spells with Sevilla and Atalanta. Averaging a goal contribution every 63 minutes, he is 8/5 to add to his tally with Leipzig’s most likely goal scorer being Christopher Nkunku at 7/5.

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