West Ham travel to Bayer Leverkusen in their Europa League quarter-final first leg and the depleted Hammers face a tough task against the runaway Bundesliga leaders, who have goalscoring threats all over the pitch.
Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham Betting Tips
- Bayer Leverkusen to win & both teams to score @ 15/8 with bet365
- Florian Wirtz to be first goalscorer @ 7/1 with bet365
- Emerson to be booked @ 7/4 with bet365
All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
- Learn more about the bet365 bonus code
- Already got a bet365 account? Check out more free bets with the UK's top bookmakers
- Find out more about the UK's best betting sites
Rampant Leverkusen should be too slick for depleted visitors
West Ham thumped Freiburg 5-0 in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie at the London Stadium, but they face far more formidable Bundesliga opponents in the quarter-finals.
Leverkusen are enjoying a sensational season, surging 16 points clear of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and stretching their unbeaten run in all competitions to 41 matches.
Xabi Alonso's men had some nervy moments in their 5-4 aggregate win over Qarabag in the previous round, but they have won their four Europa League home matches by scorelines of 4-0, 5-1, 5-1 and 3-2.
West Ham, missing first-choice goalkeeper Alphonse Areola through injury and influential midfielder Edson Alvarez due to suspension, are also expected to be without top scorer Jarrod Bowen.
They still have the attacking tools to land a blow on their gung-ho hosts, but a Leverkusen win with both teams scoring looks a solid bet.
Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham Tip 1: Bayer Leverkusen to win & both teams to score @ 15/8 with bet365
Hammers may pay the penalty against in-form Wirtz
Leverkusen wing-backs Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong have scored 23 goals between them this term, but attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz looks a more tempting price to break the deadlock on Thursday.
Wirtz scored after just seven seconds in Germany's 2-0 friendly win against France last month and he has also struck six times in his last seven club appearances.
The youngster converted penalties in Leverkusen's last two matches and West Ham have conceded eight goals from the spot in this season's Premier League - more than any other team in the division.
Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham Tip 2: Florian Wirtz to be first goalscorer @ 7/1 with bet365
West Ham full-back could be in the firing line
Leverkusen pose a colossal menace down the flanks through inspirational wing-backs Grimaldo and Frimpong, so Hammers defender Emerson looks a leading candidate to be shown a yellow card.
The Italy international picked up his eighth booking in 29 Premier League starts in last weekend's 2-1 win at Wolves and he has been cautioned twice in 413 minutes of playing time in the Europa League.
Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham Tip 3: Emerson to be booked @ 7/4 with bet365