West Ham United have been drawn to face Bayer Leverkusen in the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.
The Hammers will take on the German Bundesliga leaders in a two-legged tie, with the first leg to be played away at BayArena on Thursday 11 April, with the return to be played at London Stadium on Thursday 18 April. Both ties will kick-off at 8pm BST.
Should West Ham overcome Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in all competitions this season, they will tackle the winners of the all-Italian quarter-final between AC Milan and Roma in the semi-finals. Should we go all the way to the final, the Hammers will be the away team in Dublin on 22 May!
David Moyes’ men are competing in the last-eight of a UEFA competition for an unprecedented third season in succession and will face German opponents for the second knockout stage in a row, having defeated SC Freiburg 5-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.
While West Ham topped Group A, Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen stormed through Group H with six wins out of six over Qarabağ, Molde and BK Häcken, before coming from two goals down in both legs to defeat Azerbaijani champions Qarabağ 5-4 on aggregate in the round of 16.
Tickets will go on sale soon for the second leg at London Stadium to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders, and you will be able to buy them at eticketing.co.uk/whufc, over the phone on 0333 030 1966 or in person at the London Stadium Ticket Office. You won't want to miss out!
Historically, the Hammers have faced German clubs more than those from any other country in UEFA competitions, with 13 previous meetings.
Most famously, the Irons defeated TSV 1860 Munich – then of West Germany – 2-0 in the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup final. The following season, Ron Greenwood’s Hammers defeated 1. FC Magdeburg of East Germany in the quarter-finals of the same competition before being edged out by Borussia Dortmund of West Germany in the semi-finals.
In the 1975/76 European Cup Winners’ Cup, Trevor Brooking inspired a sensational comeback victory over Eintracht Frankfurt of West Germany in the semi-finals. However, the same opponents gained revenge when they defeated Moyes’ Hammers in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals in 2021/22.
And, of course, the Londoners have tackled Freiburg on four occasions this season, winning both Group A meetings and then recovering from a 0-1 first-leg defeat in Germany to win 5-0 at home and 5-1 on aggregate to reach the Europa League quarter-finals.
West Ham have faced Leverkusen just once previously, in a pre-season match played at the BayArena in August 2023, which Leverkusen won 4-0. Manager Moyes and his players will hope for a far better result this time around!
UEFA Europa League 2023/24
QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
(Ties to be played Thursday 11 and 18 April)
AC Milan v Roma
Liverpool v Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen v West Ham United
Benfica v Marseille
SEMI-FINAL DRAW
(Ties to be played Thursday 2 and 9 May*)
Benfica or Marseille v Liverpool or Atalanta
AC Milan or Roma v Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham
FINAL DRAW
(To be played Wednesday 22 May at Dublin Arena)
Benfica or Marseille or Liverpool or Atalanta v AC Milan or Roma or Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham
*Subject to confirmation
