West Ham United are preparing to face Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League quarter-finals in a two-legged tie.
The fact that West Ham have reached the Europa League quarter-finals is an impressive feat in itself, but now a clash with the mighty Bayer Leverkusen awaits us.
David Moyes will undoubtedly have to think outside the box for this one. Leverkusen have been in sensational form this season.
Xabi Alonso has implemented an incredibly exciting brand of football whilst in charge of the Bundesliga club, and if our players aren’t 100% on it, they could get beaten comfortably.
The Leverkusen manager’s footballing philosophy is the complete antithesis of Moyes’s, but that’s what makes this tie such an eagerly anticipated one.
Alonso has already spoken about what a special occasion this Thursday’s game will be, and made it clear that his full focus is on the West Ham game. But are Leverkusen fully focused on the Hammers?
West Ham given huge hope ahead of Europa League quarter-finals
The Hammers are big underdogs for the Leverkusen clash and it’s little wonder as to why.
Alonso’s side are arguably as good as any side in Europe right now, so we all know just how tough it will be for us to beat them over two legs.
However, it could be argued that all the talk about the German side is a good thing for us. Let them have the limelight and who knows, we might just cause a big shock.
Granit Xhaka has certainly opened the door to the idea that the Bayer Leverkusen players might just have their eyes on another prize.
The former Arsenal man made it very clear that the Bundesliga remains their main priority, as quoted by BILD:
“The sooner we become German champions, the more we can concentrate on the Europa League. If we continue like this, anything is possible.”
Well as we all know, Leverkusen have not yet been confirmed as Bundesliga champions, and they won’t be before the Hammers first-leg clash either.
The German side face Werder Bremen this weekend before they play us again in East London in 10 day’s time.
Should they not beat Werder Bremen, they will then have to go away to Borussia Dortmund and win if they are to wrap up the Bundesliga title within the next two weeks.
I feel like Xhaka has made it very clear that Leverkusen are prioritising the Bundesliga title over anything else. That’s in spite of what Alonso said yesterday.
If that is the case, and they are more focused on Werder Bremen than they are the Hammers, it could be a really big mistake.
Maybe, just maybe, West Ham are capable of progressing through from the quarter-finals and making it to the final four.
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