Eintracht Frankfurt v West Ham predictions: Hammers have hope of a comeback

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Eintracht Frankfurt v West Ham in Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 8pm Thursday

Best bet

West Ham
1pt 9-5 bet365, Hills

Team news

Eintracht Frankfurt
Evan Ndicka and Kristijan Jakic return after being banned for the first leg but the pair may have to settle for places on the bench. Diant Ramaj is injured.

West Ham
Issa Diop is back in the squad but may not be risked from the start. Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio should return to the line-up after being rested against Arsenal last weekend. Ben Johnson has joined Angelo Ogbonna on the sidelines.

Match preview

West Ham produced stirring second-leg performances to knock out Sevilla and Lyon in the last two rounds of the Europa League so the Hammers should not be written off despite a 2-1 home defeat to semi-final opponents Eintracht Frankfurt.

David Moyes's men lost 1-0 in Seville before a 2-0 extra-time victory at the London Stadium and they were outsiders to qualify from their quarter-final tie against Lyon after a 1-1 home draw in which they had to play the entire second half with ten men.

West Ham turned on the style on their trip to France, winning 3-0 against their Ligue 1 hosts, and Frankfurt's patchy home record and leaky defence mean they are no certainties to make the final.

Their 2-1 win in east London was the tenth of their 11 Europa League matches this season to reward backers of both teams to score, which should encourage West Ham's talented attacking unit.

A brilliant overhead kick from Jarrod Bowen thudded against the bar late in a first leg in which Frankfurt, 3-2 winners against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the previous round, had taken the lead in the first minute.

Oliver Glasner's men also claimed a knockout-stage win away at Real Betis but their home form, both in Europe and domestically, has been ropey.

They have won just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions on their own patch, a 2-1 victory over Bochum in the Bundesliga, and their last two away matches in the league ended in 2-0 defeats to Union Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen.

Like Frankfurt, West Ham's domestic form has suffered as their Europa League run took on increased significance but the Hammers remain on track to win the Premier League without the big six.

Their hosts have slipped into the bottom half of the Bundesliga standings, taking just 40 points from 32 games, and they have conceded at least twice in five of their last six matches.

A raucous atmosphere awaits West Ham – an estimated 30,000 Frankfurt fans made it into Camp Nou for the quarter-final second-leg win – but that may affect the home players' ability to keep calm heads.

West Ham showed excellent game management in their second-leg clashes with Sevilla and Lyon and their defensive injury crisis has eased with Kurt Zouma and Issa Diop back in the squad.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice will not be bullied in midfield and the Hammers are worth backing to win in 90 minutes against a fragile Frankfurt side.

Key stat

Eintracht Frankfurt have won only one of their last 11 home games in all competitions.

Inside info

Eintracht Frankfurt

Penalty taker Filip Kostic
Free-kick wizard Filip Kostic
Set-piece aerial threat Martin Hinteregger
Card magnet Djibril Sow

West Ham

Penalty taker Manuel Lanzini/Mark Noble
Free-kick wizard Aaron Cresswell
Set-piece aerial threat Craig Dawson
Card magnet Declan Rice

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