West Ham take on the visitors Freiburg in the first leg of UEFA Europa League 1/8-finals. First leg result: 0-1. The match will be played on Thursday, February 14th at London Stadium (London).
Yes, in the first leg in Germany, the Hammers lost to their opponents with a score of 0-1. Was such a result surprising? More yes than no, but it can't be called a sensation unequivocally. In any case, everything will now be decided in London, where the support of the fans will already be on the side of West Ham United. It's unlikely that the reigning Europa League titleholder planned to exit the tournament at such an early stage. The hosts will do everything to stage a comeback, and there is no doubt that they will score at least once against their opponent. The result of the match in Freiburg are an exception for today's Hammers. Usually, they are accustomed to playing on Over 2.5 goals: before the meeting in Germany, they prevailed over Brentford (4-2) and Everton (3-1), and then drew with Burnley (2-2).
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Freiburg managed to secure a positive result for themselves in the home match against West Ham. Although the match was fairly balanced. And judging by the xG, both teams should have scored at least one goal: 1.72 for the Germans against 1.66 for the English. Regarding Christian Streich's charges, as with the Hammers, it can also be said that a goalless draw with their opponent is an exception for them. Before the match against the Londoners, Over 2.5 goals were scored in four consecutive matches involving this team: a draw with Augsburg (2-2), draws with Bayern Munich (2-2), Lens (2-2), and Eintracht Frankfurt (3-3). And just a few days ago, in the Bundesliga, Freiburg won away against Bochum (2-1).
I think the second leg between these teams will be more entertaining than the first, in which we saw only one shot on target for both sides. The English team needs to make a comeback, and I fully expect that with the support of their home crowd in London, the Hammers can score at least 2-3 times against a team like Freiburg to achieve the desired result. But the hosts themselves are unlikely to play for a clean sheet because West Ham's defense leaves much to be desired, and the Germans are a very solid team. They can catch the hosts on the counterattack at least once when they are exposed. And they will surely be exposed. My prediction is Both Teams to Score.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score – yes.
