West Ham United will face the formidable challenge of halting Bayer Leverkusen, the prospective Bundesliga champions, during the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at the BayArena on Thursday.
The Hammers mounted a remarkable second-leg turnaround against Freiburg to secure their spot in the quarter-finals, while Xabi Alonso’s squad advanced past Azerbaijani side Qarabag in a dramatic fashion.
After completing 41 matches in the 2023-24 season, Bayer Leverkusen has impressively remained undefeated across all competitions, coming very close to losing this unbeaten record in a memorable last-16 clash with Qarabag.
