Hammers host Lyon hunting for more Europa League glory

West Ham United will be gearing up for one of the biggest nights in the club’s history when they clash with Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at The London Stadium tonight.

David Moyes’s men came from behind to triumph over Sevilla in extra time to reach the last eight, winning 2-1 on aggregate, while Lyon eliminated Porto by the same scoreline.

The Hammers, who will be appearing in just their fifth ever European competition quarter-final, rose to 6th in the Premier League table on Sunday, reviving their Champions League hopes with a 2-1 victory over Everton.

Lyon underwhelmingly sit 9th in Ligue 1, with the Europa League appearing to be their best chance of returning to European competition next season.

They will head into the tie off the back of a win themselves though, prevailing 3-2 winners over Angers on Sunday, despite being pegged back twice.

Manager Peter Bosz will have reason for optimism, with Lyon unbeaten in six games against English sides, which included most recently knocking out Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Champions League back in the 2019-20 campaign.

Karl Toko-Ekambi will look to be the man to keep the record in tact, with the Cameroonian international aiming to add to the six goals and two assists he’s already provided in the competition. However, he faces a battle against time to be fit for tomorrow, having missed their victory over Angers with illness.

Meanwhile, David Moyes will be looking for Jarrod Bowen to continue from where he left off on Sunday, with the winger scoring on his return against the Toffees, taking his tally to 13 goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season.

West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini will miss the first leg with suspension after picking up his third booking of the tournament against Sevilla.

Full back Ben Johnson is a doubt with a hamstring problem which ruled him out of the Everton game, so Vladimir Coufal is expected to rival Ryan Fredericks for a starting spot.

Alphonse Areola is expected to start over Lukasz Fabianski in goal, with the Frenchman having started in their last seven Europa League games.

For Lyon, with Toko-Ekambi a doubt, Brazilian midfielder Tete will be pushing for a start, after netting the winning goal for his team in Sunday’s win over The Black and Whites.

Lenny Pintor, Rayan Cherki and Sinaly Diomande all remain long-term absentees.

Maxence Caquret is also set to miss out with a knee problem, so Thiago Mendes and Tanguy Ndombele are expected to partner each other in midfield.

Predicted Lineups:

West Ham: (4-2-3-1) Areola; Fredericks, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma; Antonio

Lyon: (4-2-3-1) Lopes; Gusto, Boateng, Lukeba, Emerson; Mendes, Ndombele; Faivre, Paqueta, Aouar; Dembele

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