Balance was expected but there was far too much of it. The first half of the double-header between Lyon and West Ham, valid for the Europa League quarter-finals and ending in a sibylline 1-1 that postponed everything until the return match in France, did not provide great indications. David Moyes’ Hammers were unable to exploit the home factor, what in theory was supposed to be their extra gear along the lines of the previous round with Sevilla.
And now to win the semifinal they will have to conquer the Groupama Arena, another stadium where winning is never a walk in the park. The statistics also explain well how complicated the transalpine expedition of the London outfit can be, who in the knockout phase of an international competition have always been eliminated when they have not managed to win the entire stake in front of their own fans. No mean feat, then, that awaits Antonio and his team-mates. In London, however, they had to make a virtue of necessity after being reduced to ten men at the end of the first half when Cresswell was sent off. Despite the numerical inferiority they had found the advantage with Bowen, but it lasted barely a quarter of an hour, the time it took Peter Bosz’s team to equalise with former Tottenham man Ndombelé.
For Lyon, the Europa League has now become the priority. In Ligue 1 they are only tenth and a comeback seems unlikely, although fifth place is not that far away. After the London Stadium game they drew 1-1 with Strasbourg, their fourth draw in the last five games. It was worse for the Hammers, who suffered their fifth away defeat in a row against Eriksen’s Brentford (2-0).
A duel between Bowen and Thiago Mendes ©️Ansafoto
The Prediction
Along with Eintracht Frankfurt, Lyon are the only undefeated team in this edition of the Europa League and are likely to avoid defeat in the return leg against West Ham. The Hammers are less scary away and seem to be slight underdogs when it comes to qualification. In any case, it will be a balanced match like the first leg, in which the teams should score at least one goal each. It would not be surprising if they go into extra time.
Lion v West Ham
probable line-ups.
LION (4-2-3-1): Pollersbeck; Gusto, Lukeba, Boateng, Emerson Palmieri; Aouar, Ndombelé; Faivre, Paquetá, Toko Ekambi; Dembelé.
WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Masuaku; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
