The Green Street Hammers Predict: West Ham vs Lyon

It has felt like a lifetime, but European football is back for West Ham and it is a Europa League quarter-final clash against French giants Olympique Lyonnais.

The Hammers dramatically defeated Sevilla in the last round – courtesy of an extra-time Andriy Yarmolenko goal – and will be looking to replicate that performance against Lyon, who is having an underwhelming league season but still possess a lot of quality throughout their squad.

West Ham vs Lyon: Europa League predictions as the Hammers look to get to a semi-final of a major European competition for the first time since 1976. Back then they defeated Eintracht Frankfurt over two legs to reach the final. Omen?

A key difference between the previous round and this is the fact that West Ham play at home in the first leg. This means they will need to take a positive result to France if they want the best chance of progressing to the semi-final.

The London Stadium crowd will know this and will be sure to replicate the deafening atmosphere that was made against Sevilla.

So how do The Green Street Hammers writers think the Irons will fare against Lyon on Thursday night?

Alex: West Ham 2-1 Lyon

It’s one of the biggest nights in West Ham’s recent history – a European quarter-final with the potential to play Barcelona in the semi-finals.

I feel that Lyon is being underestimated due to their poor league form. They have been great in Europa League topping their group undefeated and beating a solid Porto side to get to this stage. Whether Peter Bosz will stick to his attacking philosophy vs West Ham will be interesting but if he does, the likes of Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen could run riot on the counterattack. Right-back is my only slight concern – will Ben Johnson be back? Will Vladimir Coufal be fit to start? Can Ryan Fredericks make the step up?

Overall, the Hammers need to win this match with it being at home. Taking a two-goal lead to Lyon would be ideal but any win puts West Ham in a great position to make it through.

Mia: West Ham 2-0 Lyon

This is a huge week for West Ham United. After beating Europa League favourites Sevilla, the Hammers now face two rounds with French side Lyon.

Although an away tie to start would have been preferred, getting some goals to take to Lyon is equally as beneficial. The players know the atmosphere and power the crowd will bring, which will hopefully spur them on to comfortably win the game. Bowen is back and showed his importance against Everton. Antonio is playing well, as are the players on the opposite side of the pitch.

Craig Dawson and Kurt Zouma have been quality over the last few weeks. Lyon is a team we can beat and should beat, but whether the occasion proves too much for the players, will be the deciding factor.

Jack: West Ham 2-1 Lyon

I never thought I’d be writing about how West Ham is in the quarter-finals of the Europa League considering where we were a couple of years ago. This game is absolutely massive for our club and it’s a chance to write history for us.

We will need to be on top of our game once again if we are to get past Lyon and our home leg will have a massive part to play. We’ve been playing well as of late and have been more consistent in the league after a small shaky patch. We’ve also been boosted massively by the returns of Bowen and Coufal, who should both be available for the European clash.

Lyon is a good side but so was Sevilla and this just shows that we can beat anyone if we are on form. Lyon in my opinion, is a more beatable opposition than Sevilla so I really fancy our chances against the French side. I think the lads will rise to the occasion once again and will give us another emphatic win under the lights at the bowl but we must be careful not to get too ahead of ourselves as they are in this competition for a reason.

I think Bowen and Antonio will bag both of our goals.

Finn: West Ham 2-0 Lyon

At a glance, Lyon seems a fearsome opponent, but I’m feeling bullish on this one. They’re 10th in Ligue 1 with a pretty average run of results recently. I know we’ve slumped a little but we’re yet to disappoint in Europe and are coming off the back of a vital win! COYI!