West Ham United v SC Freiburg
UEFA Europa League round of 16 second leg, London Stadium, Thursday 14 March 2024, 5.45pm GMT
West Ham United welcome SC Freiburg to London Stadium, looking to overturn a one-goal deficit in the second leg of our UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie.
The Irons suffered a narrow 1-0 loss in south-western Germany last Thursday, when Michael Gregoritsch’s 81st-minute goal settled a cagey affair at the Stadion am Wolfswinkel.
David Moyes’ men were largely untroubled after the break at Freiburg, but were made to regret missed opportunities from the likes of Dinos Mavropanos, Lucas Paquetá and Jarrod Bowen, alongside a controversial late call not to award them a penalty for handball after referee Alejandro Hernández was called to the monitor for a review by VAR Carlos del Cerro Grande.
Nevertheless, there is all to play for under the early-evening lights at London Stadium, with the Hammers looking to evoke the spirit of Seville – which saw them overcome a similar deficit at this stage of the competition two years ago.
Tickets…
Tickets for Thursday evening’s match remain on General Sale, with prices starting at just £35 for Adults and £15 for Juniors. Purchase now by clicking here, or alternatively call 0333 030 1966 or visit us in person at the London Stadium Ticket Office.
Travel…
There is no planned disruption to Transport for London Central and Jubilee line Underground, Docklands Light Railway or Elizabeth Line services calling at Stratford on Thursday night.
The only disruption on Greater Anglia services will see buses replace trains between Witham and Colchester for the 2348, 0018 and 0046 departures.
On the c2c network, the line between Stanford-le-Hope and Pitsea will be closed from 2220, with buses replacing trains from that time.
Southeastern High Speed trains serving Stratford International, meanwhile, are due to run as planned.
Stratford and Stratford City Bus Stations are located in close proximity to Stratford station. Buses that run to these stations are numbers: 25, 86, 97, 104, 108, 158, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 425, 473, D8.
Supporters using public transport are advised to check their journeys before they travel, using resources such as TfL’s Journey Planner and the TfL Go app. Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website if travelling on the rail network.
There is no parking available at London Stadium. Restrictions will be in place and enforced in the local area.
How To Follow…
Thursday’s match will be broadcast live in the UK by TNT Sports. The list of international broadcast partners for the UEFA Europa League can be found by clicking here.
You can follow the action on whufc.com and our official mobile app with a live blog, audio commentary, in-running stats and more in our Match Centre, while updates will also be available on our social media channels.
Radio wise, you can catch the game in the UK on talkSPORT2 and BBC Radio London, while you can listen in worldwide on whufc.com and our official mobile app.
Official Programme…
At 116 pages, and just £4 per issue, West Ham United’s 2023/24 Official Programme represents superb value for money for supporters wanting exclusive interviews, attention-grabbing opinions and eye-catching photographs, plus the regular news, columns, statistics and insightful content from across all areas of the Club.
Thursday’s issue includes an in-depth interview and analysis of our regular Europa League goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański, features with Dinos Mavropanos and Thomas Hitzlsperger, and a chat with former Hammer and Bundesliga stalwart Håvard Nordtveit.
With Academy content, the latest from our women’s team, plus history, puzzles, statistics and the lowdown on our opponents from Germany, the Official Programme is packed full of content for you!
Click here to order your copy now!
Team News…
The Hammers are likely to have a near-full squad available for Thursday night’s second leg.
Łukasz Fabiański will be expected to resume in goal, with Premier League stopper Alphonse Areola returning to the bench, while Michail Antonio is pushing for a start following an impressive performance from the bench in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Burnley.
Nayef Aguerd returned from a minor injury in that game and will compete with Kurt Zouma and Mavropanos for the centre-back berths.
Checks will have to be made on Emerson, who departed last week’s tie in Germany with a groin issue, while Maxwel Cornet has been absent in recent weeks with a hamstring injury.
Lucas Paquetá, Edson Álvarez and Emerson have all received two yellow cards in the competition this season and, if they pick up a third before the completion of the quarter-finals, they will need to serve a one-match ban.
Opposition…
The Hammers may never have faced SC Freiburg before this season, but they are certainly well-acquainted now, with Thursday’s match marking the fourth between the clubs this term.
And after getting the better of them home and away in the group stage of the Europa League, the Irons will be hoping to return to that form this week, following the 1-0 loss in the first leg.
The Breisgau Brazilians are enjoying arguably the best period in their 120-year history right now.
The club traces its origins back to the formation of two teams in 1904. Freiburger Fußballverein 04 was formed in March of that year, while FC Schwalbe Freiburg was created just two months later. Each would undergo name changes in the years that followed, before coming together to form Sportclub Freiburg in 1912.
The side first reached the Bundesliga in 1993 and finished third, just three points behind winners Borussia Dortmund, in their second season at that level. They were most recently promoted back to the German top flight in 2016, having spent a season in 2. Bundesliga.
Freiburg finished fifth in the table last term to qualify directly to the UEFA Europa League group stage, and are hoping to break new ground in their sixth campaign on the continent.
This level holds no fear for Christian Streich’s side though, as they came through a Europa League group containing Olympiacos, Qarabağ and Nantes unbeaten last season, before being defeated 3-0 on aggregate by Juventus in the round of 16.
This year, they had to make it through a play-off tie against RC Lens to progress to the same stage, having finished second behind West Ham United in Group A, that also saw them come up against FK TSC Bačka Topola and Olympiacos again.
Following a goalless first leg against the Frenchmen, Freiburg sealed a third (and fourth) meeting of the season with the Hammers with a 3-2 extra-time win on home soil, thanks to another late strike from Gregoritsch.
They are currently eighth in their domestic top tier, having sandwiched last week’s victory over the Hammers with a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich and a 2-1 win at struggling VfL Bochum on Sunday.
Previous Meetings…
Prior to 2023/24, West Ham had faced a team from Freiburg just once - nearly 100 years ago in a post-season tour match.
The Irons were on the receiving end of a 5-2 loss in May 1924 by Freiburger FC - at the time the dominant club in the city - which came at the end of their first season as a Football League First Division team. Vic Watson and John Campbell were the goalscorers for those in Claret and Blue that day, in what was the Club’s first ever away defeat by continental European opposition.
More recently, goals from Lucas Paquetá and Nayef Aguerd earned a 2-1 victory for the Hammers on their first visit to Stadion am Wolfswinkel - and first meeting with SC Freiburg - in October 2023.
Two months later, first-half strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Edson Álvarez settled the reverse tie at London Stadium without reply, sealing top spot in the group and automatic progression to the last 16 of this season’s UEFA Europa League.
However, Freiburg snapped that run of Hammers victories last week, leaving Moyes’ charges with the task of overturning a one-goal deficit at home.
Match Officials…
Referee: Marco Guida (ITA)
Assistant Referees: Filippo Meli (ITA) and Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Chiffi (ITA)
VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo (ITA)
Assistant VAR: Luca Pairetto (ITA)
The match officials for the UEFA Europa League round of 16 second-leg clash at home to SC Freiburg on Thursday evening have been confirmed.
A full Italian contingent will be led by Marco Guida, who has been a FIFA referee since 2014.
The 42-year-old was born in Pompei and has been officiating since 2007, going on to take charge of his first game in Serie A - a 1-1 draw between AC ChievoVerona and Bologna - in January 2010.
Guida has overseen close to 400 matches at both domestic and international levels, including five Milan derbies between Inter and AC.
He has never officiated at a West Ham United match, but has been the man in the middle in games involving Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester United and Leicester City.
Indeed, Guida refereed RC Lens’ 2-1 win over the Gunners in this season’s UEFA Champions League group stage, with the Frenchmen having gone on to be defeated by Freiburg in the Europa League knockout round play-off ahead of this round of 16 tie.
He has also held the whistle during three England international fixtures, most recently a 4-0 win for the Three Lions over Bulgaria in a UEFA European Championship qualifier in September 2019.
