With an historic Bundesliga title already secured, Bayer Leverkusen now set their full focus on pairing it with a European trophy as they travel to meet West Ham looking to secure a spot in the Europa League semifinals.
As a cherry on top to their sensational season, Xabi Alonso remains unbeaten on the year. Leverkusen were the last ‘Big Five European League’ club to go unbeaten when Bayern Munich suffered defeat all the way back in early December, and they’ve maintained that record in sensational fashion throughout the second half of this campaign.
Holding a 2-0 aggregate lead over West Ham after a first leg victory at home last week, they simply need to maintain their unbeaten record to advance through to the final four remaining in the competition.
West Ham seem ripe for the picking, as they have won just three Premier League games in 2024, but they managed to turn around a 1-0 first-leg deficit to another German club Freiburg in the previous knockout round, so Leverkusen will be aware of their ability to flip the matchup on its head.
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West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction, odds
- Moneyline lean: Bayer Leverkusen (-110)
- Score prediction: West Ham 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen haven’t faltered all season, and it’s hard to imagine they’ll stumble at this stage. Xabi Alonso will play this safe to protect the aggregate lead, and if the unbeaten streak has to end in the process, so be it, but that feels unlikely.
Leverkusen are exceedingly adept at hitting on the counter-attack, so as West Ham work to turn the aggregate scoreline around, they’ll leave themselves open at the back. If anyone in Europe can take advantage of that, it’s Xabi Alonso’s side. Add in that Lucas Paqueta and Emerson are both suspended for this match, and Jarrod Bowen may be out injured, leaving the hosts extremely thin.
| BetMGM (USA) |
|
| West Ham win | +270 |
| Draw | +270 |
| Leverkusen win | -110 |
| Both teams to score |
Y: -175 N: +125 |
| Over / Under 2.5 goals |
O: -165 U: +120 |
| Leverkusen to advance |
+675 |
| West Ham to advance |
-2000 |
West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen match facts
- Date: Thursday, April 18, 2024
- Kickoff time: 8 p.m. local (3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT)
- Location: London Stadium (London, England)
- Referee: Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez (ESP), VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP)
- Last meeting: Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 West Ham (April 11, 2024 | Europa League)
West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen best bet
- Pick: Bayer Leverkusen to win to nil
- Odds: +270 (BetMGM)
West Ham have been completely inept up front without an injured Jarrod Bowen. While he’s not fully been ruled out in this match, a back injury has it feeling unlikely that he’ll play, and at best he’ll be deployed at less than full fitness.
Add in that Lucas Paqueta is suspended, and the entire spine of this West Ham attack is almost surely not going to play. Michail Antonio has had zero service at the head of the front line, with zero shots against Leverkusen in the first leg and one against Fulham over the weekend. In total, West Ham generated one total shot against Leverkusen in the first leg, and it doesn’t feel like they’re equipped to breach this disciplined Xabi Alonso setup even as they return home.
West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen prop bet
- Pick: Bayer Leverkusen 7+ shots on target
- Odds: +160 (FanDuel)
While this is normally a high bar to clear, there’s every reason Bayer Leverkusen can test Lukasz Fabianski regularly in this match. They generated an incredible 13 shots on target in the first leg, and West Ham coughed up 10 of them against Fulham over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen pummeled Werder Bremen 5-0 in their most recent league match, generating 10 shots on target and never taking their foot off the gas, scoring four goals in the final half-hour, including two in the final 10 minutes.
This Xabi Alonso side is motivated, and even when they’re not finishing chances at a high rate, they still manage to test the goalkeeper, especially if they are finding joy by hitting a desperate West Ham on the counter.
West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen live stream, TV channel
U.S. broadcast rights-holder CBS Sports will air this match exclusively on the company’s dedicated streaming service Paramount+, with the match between AS Roma and AC Milan selected instead for television broadcast.
In the U.K. this match will air on TNT Sports 2, with streaming on the company’s dedicated platform discovery+, while in Canada, DAZN is the exclusive streaming service of all UEFA club competitions.
