West Ham United will visit the Groupama Stadium to face Olympique Lyon for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-finals tie on Thursday. The Hammers will seek to pick up an aggregate victory after settling for a 1-1 draw in last week’s first leg. Despite losing Cresswell to an early bath just before the half-time whistle blew, the 10 men of West Ham managed to strike first through Jarrod Bowen, but Tottenham Hotspur loanee, Tanguy Ndombele, finished from close range to level the scores for Lyon.
David Moyes’s side have lost hopes of a top-four finish after Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney combined twice to hand Brentford a 2-0 win at the weekend, so it would not be surprising to see Moyes prioritise success in the Europa League. Defeat at the Brentford Community Stadium marked a fifth loss in a row for West Ham away from home, during which time, they have only managed to find the back of the net twice.
Defence:
Alphonse Areola (GK), Ben Johnson, Craig Dawson, Issa Diop, Arthur Masuaku.
West Ham United will be without the services of left-back Aaron Cresswell after the defender was controversially sent off in the first leg. Cresswell has been a very important player for Moyes defensively as well as when West Ham are in the offensive transition. Arthur Masuaku will come in to replace Cresswell on the left flank. Lyon-born centre-back, Kurt Zouma, has been ruled out of the tie after suffering a twisted ankle in Sunday’s Premier League fixture at Brentford. Issa Diop is expected to replace the centre-back and will partner Craig Dawson at the heart of West Ham’s defence.
The above visual shows us the overview of the attacking, passing and defensive metrics for West Ham United. West Ham have attempted 89.72 defensive actions per 90 minutes and have won 78% of these actions. They rank highly for the success rate of their aerial duels and have managed to win 46% of the aerial duels they have competed for.
Midfield:
Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice.
Soucek and Rice have been the go-to pair for Moyes in the midfield, and the double pivot of the two midfielders has helped West Ham throughout the season. Soucek is important to West Ham United in set-piece situations and can also work tirelessly in the midfield to win back the ball for his team.
Rice created the highest threat from his passes against Brentford and put up a positive performance despite the nature of the end result. Rice is a very dependable midfielder and has been one of the first names on the sheet for David Moyes this season.
Attack:
Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals, Michail Antonio.
Jarrod Bowen has been West Ham’s top goalscorer and has also provided 10 assists in the season so far. He has 24 goal contributions in all competitions and also scored the opener in the first leg. Bowen has an xG of 0.29 per 90 minutes in the Premier League and has attempted 2.31 shots on average. He has completed 41% of his attacking actions and also has a high dribbles success rate.
Pablo Fornals is expected to start in the number 10 role, with Bowen and Benrahma on either side and Michail Antonio in front of him as their number nine. Moyes also has the option to start Lanzini in place of Fornals, as the midfielder returns after a one-match ban that he served in the first leg.
West Ham have now posted just three wins from nine since the start of March, and all three wins have been at home. The Hammers have struggled away from home recently but will have to be at their best against the French side on Thursday.
