West Ham take on Freiburg in the Europa League
(Getty Images)
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West Ham face an uphill battle to remain in Europe’s second-tier competition when they host Freiburg this evening.
The Hammers fell to a controversial 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. David Moyes’ side were controversially denied a late penalty to level the tie.
The two teams have already faced each other in the competition this year. In the group stages, West Ham won both matches and will have the benefit of the home advantage as they look to turn over the deficit and reach the quarter-finals of the competition.
In the pre-match press conference, Moyes insisted the club have been enjoying their recent European runs, he said: “If you want to be on the big stage, now is the time to act. If you can’t perform, don’t go on stage. From the first game we had in Europe, we’ve been on a good ride and no one wants that to end.”
Follow all the live action in the blog below, and get the latest odds and tips here.
West Ham vs Freiburg
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the second leg of the Europa League last-16 match between West Ham and Freiburg at the London Stadium.
The Hammers go into the game with a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.
Sonia Twigg13 March 2024 15:28
Is Kalvin Phillips in Gareth Southgate’s squad?
Firstly, there was an England squad update, and a key West Ham player missed out.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Anthony Gordon have received their first England call-ups but there was no place for Kalvin Phillips in Gareth Southgate’s last squad before making his Euro 2024 selection.
Phillips has been dropped after a torrid run of form since he joined West Ham on loan in January.
Phillips was at fault for a goal on his debut against Bournemouth before he was sent off at Nottingham Forest last month and hooked at half-time of Sunday’s 2-2 draw at home to Burnley.
Sonia Twigg14 March 2024 15:00
When is the Europa League quarter-final draw?
Europa League sides are set to find out their quarter-final opponents when the draw takes place next Friday.
There are four British teams currently competing in the last-16 and hoping to be in the draw, with Liverpool almost there already thanks to their 5-1 thrashing of Sparta Prague. Rangers and West Ham still have work to do when they host Benfica and Freiburg respectively on Thursday night, while Brighton need to pull off a miracle after losing 4-0 at Roma in the first leg.
Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan are all well placed to reach the quarter-finals in their respective ties, while it’s more even in the tie between Atalanta and Sporting after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
As well as the quarter-finals, the semi-final draw will also be made, so clubs will be able to plot their route to the final in Dublin on Wednesday 22 May.
Sonia Twigg14 March 2024 15:30
