Lyon vs West Ham: The French will be stronger in a tight game

In the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, Lyon and West Ham United could not decide the winner. Who will make it through to the next round of the tournament in the second leg? We predict the French will be closer to success!

Lyon are having another disappointing season in the French Ligue 1. At the end of the 2019/20 championship, the Lions finished in seventh place, which was considered a real failure for them, but now they occupy the tenth place in the standings altogether. If they do not improve before the end of the season, this will be their worst result since 1995/96. On the international stage, on the other hand, they did pretty well - Peter Bosch’s side won the group with 16 of a possible 18 points, then qualified against Porto in the last 16 and snatched a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the quarter-final, although they were playing on the power play.

In recent years, West Ham have always followed a similar pattern: a brilliant first half to a disappointing one. Now, the Hammers looked good in both the Europa League and the EPL, where they occupied a top-four position, but then suffered a setback. The London club has already slipped to sixth place in the local league and risks relegation from the Europa League. In the Europa League, David Moyes’ side has fared better so far but, with great difficulty, they beat Sevilla in extra time in the last 16 and settled for a 1-1 draw at home to Lyon in the quarter-finals.

Lyon are failing this season in the French Ligue 1, but are performing magnificently on the international stage, having not suffered a single defeat so far. Last time round, the Lions toppled Porto, who were one of the favorites to win the title. West Ham have serious matchday problems at the moment, especially in the away games: they have lost a combined total of five away games in all competitions. Of course, Peter Bosch’s charges will try to take advantage of this, so we’d have to bet on Lyon’s victory for 2.15.

Don’t expect a goal-scoring extravaganza from the upcoming match. The Europa League quarter-finals are already a very solid stage, so we should enter the field with a maximum attitude. In the three previous UEFA Champions League exit games, Lyon scored just five goals (1.67 average per game), while West Ham scored just four goals (1.33 average per game) over the same distance. On this basis, the best option for the prediction seems to be Total Under 2.5 goals for 1.91.

Karl Toko Ekambi is Lyon’s main attacking hope. The Cameroonian forward has already scored six goals in this Europa League campaign and is currently in the tournament's lead’s top scorers. He has already scored eight goals in the French league, and last time round he led the Lions to a 90th-minute draw against Strasbourg. The 29-year-old is in excellent form, so a bet on Karl Toko Ekambi’s goal is worth considering at odds of around 3.05.

TelecomAsia Sport is looking for golf tipsters. Contact jobs@telecomasia.net for more information.