West Ham United vs Freiburg

West Ham United and Freiburg are set to lock horns in a high-stakes second leg of their evenly-contested Europa League last-16 tie at the London Stadium.

After a 1-0 loss in Germany last week, West Ham return to their own home patch in pursuit of a turnaround, something they’ve achieved in five of the six UEFA knockout ties when losing the first leg on the road. On top of that, the London Stadium has recently been a fortress in Europe, with the Hammers winning 13 of their last 16 continental home fixtures (D1, L2). However, Premier League minnows Burnley nearly breached their stronghold at the weekend as David Moyes’ side had to fight back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2, wasting a massive chance to solidify their top-seven quest. That stalemate was one of four across their last six competitive home outings (W1, L1), painting a bleak picture ahead of this crunch meeting.

In the meantime, Freiburg followed their first-leg success with a 2-1 Bundesliga win at Bochum, extending their unbeaten run across all competitions to three games (W2, D1). But as they’re still seven points adrift of the European spots in Germany’s top flight, going the distance in the Europa League is perhaps their best chance of securing continental football for next season. Progression from this tie is not a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination, considering the Germans lost 2-0 at this venue in this season’s Europa League group stages. Yet, as that defeat stands as one of only five across their last 16 European games on hostile turf (W6, D5), Christian Streich’s men will take the field in a buoyant mood.