Our prediction for this Europa League match:
All eyes will be on Parc Olympique Lyonnais when Olympique Lyon and West Ham go head to head in the Europa League quarter-finals, second leg. Les Gones failed to turn their dominance into victory in the Olympic Stadium draw, but keep in mind that West Ham left-back Aaron Cresswell was sent off on the stroke of half-time. Goalkeeper Anthony Lopes has joined the likes of Caqueret, Cherki, Diomande, and Mendes in the recovery room.
The Hammers, on the other hand, aim to make amends for a 2-0 loss to Brentford. Aforementioned defender Cresswell is banned for the match, while Kurt Zouma should miss out with injury. Anyhow, yet another close encounter is on the cards in France, and we are tempted to put our money on draw. Issa Diop is widely expected to return to the starting XI.
Highlighted Player (Jerome Boateng):
After spending the 2010/2011 season at Manchester City, Jerome Boateng moved to Bayern Munich on 14 July, 2011. The 192-cm-tall defender joined the Bundesliga giants for a fee of €13.5 million and he has been playing for the Bavarians ever since. Despite the fact that his father is Ghanaian, Boateng decided to represent Germany on the international stage.
He has 15 caps for Germany U21 and represented Germany national team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Bayern Munich defender produced a thrilling performance in the title game, preventing Argentine star Leo Messi from scoring. Boateng won the World Cup trophy with German and it has to be noted that he clinched his fourth Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich in the 2015/2016 season.
In 2013 he helped the mighty Bavarians win the Champions League trophy. Unlike Jerome, his older brother Kevin-Prince Boateng plays for the Ghanaian national team. The Bayern Munich defender has a contract with the Allianz Arena outfit which expires on 30 June, 2012.
Highlighted Team (West Ham):
West Ham United are an English football club based in East London. The club was founded in 1895 and it has to be noted that the club’s name was Thames Ironworks back then. The Hammers were playing their home games at Upton Park from 1904 until 2016, when they moved to the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
West Ham have won three FA Cup trophies (1964, 1975 and 1980) and they were runners-up in 1923 and 2006. The capital club finished the 1985/1986 England first division campaign in third place in the standings and that is the club’s highest placing in the top flight. West Ham United have strong rivalries with fellow London clubs, but Tottenham Hotspur are considered the club’s main rivals.
A number of top-class players were part of West Ham in the past and the likes of Joe Cole, Carlos Tevez, Paolo Di Canio, Paul Ince, Julian Dicks, Shaka Hislop, Michael Carrick and Slaven Bilic are some of them.