Eintracht Frankfurt vs West Ham: Three things Hammers must do to reach Europa League final

West Ham are out to make history with a semi-final comeback against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.

The German secured a vital 2-1 advantage from the first leg in London to make themselves big favourites to reach the final in Seville.

But the Hammers are no strangers to being the underdogs on a European run that has looked at threat of running out of steam before.

All eyes will be on Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen as David Moyes looks to grab the crucial first goal in Frankfurt tonight, although stopping the hosts from enjoying the sort of space they were gifted in the first leg will also be key.

Malik Ouzia delivers his three routes to victory for the Hammers...

Keep a closer eye on Knauff

The tactical debate ahead of the first leg circled around how West Ham might deal with the threat of Filip Kostic, but it was Frankfurt’s other wing-back, Ansgar Knauff, who caused most problems.

The home side found it hard to track his runs in off the right, most notably for the opening goal inside a minute, and presuming David Moyes does not change shape to match the hosts, Aaron Cresswell and Pablo Fornals must do a better job of keeping tabs on him.

Star men must step up

FBL-EUR-C3-WEST HAM-TRAINING
AFP via Getty Images

This will be a night when West Ham need their biggest players to come to the fore, and it was no surprise to hear Moyes single out Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen yesterday.

For Bowen, that could be a case of fine margins falling in his favour, after he twice hit the woodwork in the first leg. For Rice, the Hammers will need not only his drive going forward, but also his reading of the game to stop the supply into Daichi Kamada, who ran the show in the first leg.

Summon the spirit of Lyon

AFP via Getty Images

West Ham’s League performances have been tired of late, and Sunday’s defeat by Arsenal did little to eradicate the feeling that a thin squad may be running out of gas.

It is worth remembering, though, that it was off the back of a laboured defeat at Brentford that West Ham summoned a colossal effort to trounce Lyon away from home. Something similar is needed here.

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