Eintracht Frankfurt vs West Ham United Predictions

• Frankfurt won the first leg 2-1.
• The Bundesliga club have just one defeat in this competition, in their last 16 tie with Real Betis.
• West Ham have lost six of their last seven away from home.
• Ansgar Knauff has two goals in five Europa League games.

Huge task for Hammers

West Ham trail Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 in their Europa League semi-final and will need to be at their very best to overturn that deficit when they head to Germany for the second leg on Thursday.

The Hammers did win 3-0 at Lyon in the previous round but that victory is their only road win since New Year’s Day. David Moyes’ men have seven defeats and two draws in their last 10 away games, while Eintracht have just one defeat in their last six at home.

Die Adler should go into this game fresh as manager Oliver Glasner opted to rotate his squad for the 2-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen last time out. Moyes named a strong starting XI for the Hammers’ weekend assignment as they went down 2-1 at home to Arsenal.

Home win offers value

Frankfurt have managed just two wins in their last 12 games but they have saved their best for this competition since the knockout stages began and both of those wins came in the Europa League.

The Bundesliga club have knocked out Real Betis and Barcelona to reach this stage, and are now on the cusp of the final. Interestingly, in both of their previous knockout ties they have won the away legs and drawn at home (after extra time in Betis’ case) but at what looks a big price I’m backing them to finish the job with a win here.

The Hammers simply have to go for it and Frankfurt have the quality to pick them off on the break. Furthermore, West Ham’s recent poor form on the road suggests they could be heading for another loss and as the Bundesliga club were worthy winners in the first meeting I feel they can follow that up with another win.

Repeat result has a chance

Another 2-1 win for Frankfurt has some appeal in the correct score market as the German club have score at least twice in each of their last five victories, while West Ham’s last two losses have been 2-1 defeats. I’m also anticipating both teams scoring as Frankfurt have only managed one clean sheet in their last 10 at home and West Ham have only failed to score in two of their last 11 overall.

Frankfurt’s on-loan forward Ansgar Knauff looks a contender for an anytime goal after he scored in the first leg. Knauff has three goals since joining the club on a temporary deal from Borussia Dortmund and two of those have come in his five Europa League appearances, and he should be well rested for this game as he featured as a second half substitute at the weekend against Bayer.

Eintracht Frankfurt predicted lineup: Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, Toure, Knauff, Sow, Rode, Kostic, Kamada, Lindstrom, Borre

West Ham predicted lineup: Areola, Coufal, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals, Antonio