West Ham vs Leverkusen Prediction 18 April 2024

West Ham, as the reigning Conference League champions, is trying to raise the bar and conquer the second most significant European cup. However, experts' predictions are bleak, as in the first match of the Europa League quarter-finals, the "Hammers" were utterly defeated by the incredible Bayer. On April 18th, David Moyes's team will try to use the support of the "London Stadium" to turn the tide of the confrontation with the newly minted German champion.

Doing this will be extremely difficult, as Bayer will enter the match in optimal lineup. Only striker Glojek, who is not a starter, will miss the game due to injury. As for West Ham, the personnel situation is, frankly, sad. The main goalkeeper Areola and one of the attack leaders Bowen are injured, although there is still hope for the Englishman's return. Also, Lucas Paqueta, the main creative unit of the "Hammers," will not take to the field due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Referee statistics. The order on the field will be monitored by Spanish Jose Sanchez Martinez. In his last 7 matches, he has shown less than 5 yellow cards, while showing a red card twice. The average number of fouls over the last 10 matches is 24, and over the last 100 - 27.

In matches involving West Ham, an average of 19.3 fouls is recorded, 9.3 of which are committed by the "Hammers" themselves. Bayer plays less harshly - 18.3 fouls per match, with only 8.9 by the "pharmacists". As for yellow cards, West Ham averages 1.8, while Bayer - 1.3. Based on the aforementioned statistics, a bet on total cards under (4.5) for 1.73 seems logical.

The previous meeting of the teams was the first in their history of confrontation, so statistics of personal meetings are not the best assistant in choosing a bet for the upcoming match.

West Ham is going through a difficult period of the season. The team's recent matches do not inspire optimism, but the "Hammers" have no right to give up in front of their fans. The hosts must go forward.West Ham has had more than 3.5 corners at home in 5 consecutive matches, as well as in 9 out of the last 10 matches. A bet on West Ham's corners over (3.5) is offered at 1.42.

Bayer has won the silver salad bowl. The curse is lifted - "Neverkusen" has faded into oblivion! However, Habi Alonso's team does not intend to rest on its laurels - its plans include winning a treble.Considering this, we offer a strong trend for betting - Bayer scores more than 1.5 goals away in 6 out of their last 7 matches. Sportbooks rate the bet on Bayer's total goals over (1.5) with an attractive coefficient of 1.74.

But the best option for betting, in our editorial opinion, is total corners over (8.5) for 1.62. Both teams are good in this aspect, so the likelihood of success is very high.