West Ham travel to Germany on Thursday night to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of a UEFA Europa League semi final, with both sides desperate to do enough to get their place in the final in Seville.
The game comes a week after the first leg of this tie, which took place back in East London at the London Stadium, and saw Die Adler come out 2-1 winners - though such a lead is far from secure with another 90 minutes to play.
Frankfurt will take confidence from the fact they still remain unbeaten in this season's competition, as well as that, in their entire history, they have never been eliminated from a European competition after winning the first leg away from home.
Add to that the statistic that the club have only ever lost one semi final at home - which came all the way back in 1992 to Bayer Leverkusen - and it's clear that the hosts are set to be in pole position to progress.
All that said though, David Moyes' side will not be giving up just yet, even in the face of so much perceived difficulty at getting past a stubborn opposition, with a 3-0 win away at Lyon in the last round a potentially positive omen.
However, they will have to overcome the odds of how previous teams have fared in this competition in the same position as them - no side has made it through to the final after losing the first leg since Liverpool in 2015/16.
Team News
Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner spoke to the media and said: 'Things have improved in terms of personnel. [Martin] Hinteregger has returned to training. We'll see tomorrow whether Windstorm is available. Everyone else is physically and mentally fit.'
The likely unavailability of Jesper Lindstrom with a hamstring injury will come as a blow to the hosts in this one, especially considering how well the 22-year-old played last week in London until he was forced off in the 62nd minute.
That said, a player who could now be featuring is centre back Martin Hinteregger, and that will be a welcome boost for Glasner's side given it looked as though the Austrian may not have been ready to play a little earlier in the week.
Moyes told the press prior to the game: 'At the moment, everybody is [fit]. Ben Johnson had a thigh strain, but seems to be okay. Issa Diop had a problem with his ankle but has made an incredible recovery.'
Just a week ago it seemed as though the Hammers could be in real trouble when it came to their centre back injury crisis, only having one player fit in that position in the form of 31-year-old Craig Dawson.
Now though, with Kurt Zouma, Issa Diop and Ben Johnson all back in the squad, the only absentee for this one will be Angelo Ogbonna, who has a longer term issue which has kept him out since last November.
Predicted Lineups
Eintracht Frankfurt (3-4-2-1):
Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, Ndicka; Knauff, Jakic, Rode, Kostic; Hauge, Kamada; Maury
West Ham (4-2-3-1):
Areola; Coufal, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio
Form Guide
While the German outfit may have come out on top in the first leg of this tie, they haven't been in the best form when looking at their games outside of European competition, having not won a domestic match in seven games.
Who‘s in @EuropaLeague mood? 😁💫#SGEWHU #SGEuropa #UEL pic.twitter.com/1F45q7sLqk
— Eintracht Frankfurt (@eintracht_eng) May 3, 2022
They sit in a pretty dismal 11th place in the Bundesliga with just two games to go, meaning the success of their season very much hinges on whether they can go all the way and win their first European trophy since 1980.
Meanwhile the Hammers have been going through fairly similar troubles in their league fixtures, having only won one of their last six matches in the Premier League - against relegation-threatened Everton no less too.
All focus on Thursday night 👊#UEL | #SGEWHU pic.twitter.com/lQfFXc60iq
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 3, 2022
That said, their European journey has been nothing short of remarkable during this campaign, and they appear to have performed best on the road, most notably with that aforementioned triumph over Lyon.
Ones To Watch
In terms of who to look out for from the home side, Daichi Kamada appears to be the most exciting choice, with the 25-year-old having scored nine goals and assisted on three occasions in all competitions this season.
The Japan international has found most of his success in Europe though, with him taking the accolade of being Eintracht Frankfurt's top scorer in the Europa League during this campaign, notching up five goals.
Add on his one assist and it means he has six goal contributions in 11 appearances, including one last time out against the very same opponents he will be facing on home turf, so you wouldn't bet against him finding the back of the net again.
Speaking of that previous game in the first leg back in the English capital, West Ham did get a goal on the scoreboard a week ago courtesy of Michail Antonio, who tapped in from Kurt Zouma's header to equalise.
Unfortunately for Hammers' fans, the 32-year-old's goal didn't end up preventing a home loss, but it did give them a good chance heading into this one, and with just one goal between the sides Antonio may well be involved again.
With eleven goals and ten assists to his name in all competitions over the course of the current campaign, the Jamaica international will hope he can add one more goal in Germany - and what a huge one it would be.
Previous Meetings
There haven't been a whole host of meetings between these sides over the course of their respective histories - in fact they have only played against one another on three different occasions up to this game taking place.
The first of those three came way back in March 1976 when, at the same stage as these two teams currently meet in the present day in the form of the semi finals, the clubs faced off in the first leg of their UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup tie.
On that night in Germany, it was the hosts that came out 2-1 victors - despite West Ham taking the lead through Graham Paddon - as goals from Willi Neuberger and Wolfgang Kraus sealed a first leg advantage in Frankfurt.
Just a couple of weeks later though, it was time for the return leg, with the Hammers set to be cheered on by a huge crowd at the Boleyn Ground, despite the dreadful conditions following a day of heavy rain in the buildup.
Such weather did not impede the home team though, as, following a 0-0 stalemate in the opening 45 minutes, they went 3-0 ahead in the second half, with a late consolation goal not enough to prevent them progressing through 4-3 on aggregate.
And then, finally, the most recent meeting between these two sides came just last week at the London Stadium, 46 years after they first played one another, and it was played out in strangely similar circumstances to that inaugural encounter.
Goals from Ansgar Knauff and the previously talked-about Daichi Kamada led to an important victory for the German team and their many thousands of fans - though as seen back in 1976, such a lead is definitely not irreversible.
How To Watch
For those wishing to catch this game live on TV in the UK, the match is set to be broadcast on BT Sport 1, with coverage scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM BST, leaving an hour for pre-match analysis in the studio.
That's because kick off in this much-anticipated semi final second leg is at 8:00 PM BST - and with the potential for extra time and then even penalties, it could be a late one on Thursday night in Frankfurt.