Bayer Leverkusen are enjoying a fantastic period under Xabi Alonso and are one of the favorites for the Europa League. They are unbeaten in 41 matches in all competitions in the 23-24 season. This statistic is an incredible start for Alonso. Leverkusen had a very difficult time against Karabakh in the previous round, but managed to get through and they have a chance to claim the Bundesliga title this weekend.
Leverkusen rotated their squad for the game against Union Berlin and I think they had the opportunity to prepare well for West Ham. Last season's Conference League champions West Ham lost away to Freiburg in the previous round but won the rematch with a different score. Even though things are not going well for West Ham in the Premier League, they will come into this game with extra motivation. Leverkusen are the favorites for this match but I think West Ham have the potential to surprise.
It’s good that they now have such an opportunity to prepare for the match with West Ham, and can give the players a rest, if Bayern had followed them, they definitely would not have had such an opportunity. They play the first match at home, and they need to win. West Ham are not the most difficult team in the Premier League, but they are in the standings near Manchester United and Newcastle. Bayer needs to score as many goals as possible, this is very important for a home match.
Westham is not a strong team, but since Leverkusen was unfamiliar with Westham's gameplay, it was difficult for them to beat it caused by leverkusen must have seen how's gameplay of westham in the first leg. I'm paying more attention to Leverkusen's strategy for dealing with West Ham's low block caused by this is one of strongest low block in the premier league. Leverkusen will have won the Bundesliga, and the Europa League will be his next target but im not very optimistic if leverkusen will able to beat westham easily even with the help of xabi alonso.
The low block strategy is something that Leverkusen should fully anticipate caused by westham was always used this against the strong club in order to prevent it in getting full points on EPL. It appears that Moyes is fully aware of Leverkusen's gameplay. I believe that low block was disliked by any team that was focusing on how to gain more possessions.
The outcome of this match will determine Leverkusen's fate in the Europa League since xabi has a very big target for leverkusen at this season. Failure to win against westham will undoubtedly put Leverkusen at a disadvantage in the second leg caused by it will have difficult match to pass. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Leverkusen to qualify for the Europa League this season since westham is considerably strong opponent.
I was fully aware of how strong Leverkusen is, but the real test will begin when it faces a fully defensive club that frequently puts a wall in front of the goalkeeper, such as West Ham.