LONDON STADIUM, LONDON — West Ham host their first major European quarter-final in 41 years this evening, with French giants Olympique Lyonnais in town.
David Moyes’ magnificent second spell in charge of the Irons reaches its highest point so far, with a place in the Europa League semi-finals being beyond most fans’ wildest dreams when he re-took the helm three years ago.
But that is up for grabs over the course of the next seven days, with the home leg this evening followed up by a quick-fire return in Lyon next Thursday.
Awaiting the winner of this tie is a semi-final date with either Frankfurt or the mighty Barcelona.
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The Sporting News is live from what is sure to be a raucous London Stadium, with live updates throughout the evening below.
West Ham vs. Lyon live score
1H | 2H | Final | |
West Ham | – | – | – |
Lyon | – | – | – |
Goals: –
West Ham vs. Lyon live updates
24th min: Ndombele and Rice are two Rolls-Royce midfielders going head-to-head here, but it’s the former into slightly more of a rhythm as Lyon boss the ball and control the tempo. The crowd have been quietened by the visitors, but still Alphonse Areola hasn’t been forced into a save.
18th min: After another bout of patient Lyon buildup, the Irons again go route one. Michail Antonio uses his commanding frame to win a header that plays in Benrahma, who makes a return pass but Antonio’s shot is dealt with.
15th min: The tempo of the game had slowed significantly to suit Lyon, but West Ham just ignited it again with one long ball. A simply magnificent first touch from Said Benrahma to control it on the run sets up a chance for a left-footed shot, but Anthony Lopes saves.
10th min: First chance of note goes to Lyon. Lucas Pacqueta breaks left and beats the offside trap to put the ball across the face of goal, but Dembele’s attempt is blocked at close range.
7th min: Fredericks already knows he’s in for a huge night against Aouar, who is seeing the ball early doors. His first break into the box ends in a cross to nobody at the back post, but it’s a warning sign.
3rd min: West Ham making the first inroads into the opposition third, though nothing concrete. The home fans making this place an absolute cauldron.
KICK-OFF: We are underway in East London!
10 mins to KO: As “Freed from Desire” blasts out of the loudspeakers, there is a real party atmosphere here. This is the team of a generation, the game of a generation – and these fans know it.
15 mins to KO: Despite their lowly league position, Lyon come into this tie in a relatively strong run of away form. Les Gones have lost just one of the last eight on the road, and that came against Monaco.
30 mins to KO: As the atmosphere begins to build here in the former Olympic Stadium, there’ll be a fair few Irons fans old enough to remember their last major European quarter-final, which came against Dinamo Tbilisi back in 1980/81. The exited the European Cup Winners’ Cup 4-2 on aggregate, having made that competition via winning the 1980 FA Cup.
50 mins to KO: Moyes has used his programme notes to stress how big a step up tonight is for the Hammers: “This represents a completely different dynamic, a gear change from the last round when the second leg was in our home stadium. Tonight, we must demonstrate a level of maturity and experience as we face a very good Lyon side.”
1 hour 10 mins to KO: Lyon’s XI is here too, and looking as strong as expected.
Le XI de départ lyonnais pour affronter West Ham en quart de finale aller d’@EuropaLeague ! 👊🔴🔵#WHUOL #UEL pic.twitter.com/yHKaxPg28g
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) April 7, 2022
1 hour 15 mins to KO: The West Ham XI is in. The biggest surprise perhaps is Ryan Fredericks starting, while a major boost comes in the form of Jarrod Bowen returning after missing the Sevilla victory.
Here’s how we line up for tonight’s quarter-final first leg…#WHUOL | #UEL pic.twitter.com/oyANk2RCWc
— West Ham United (@WestHam) April 7, 2022
1 hour 40 mins to KO: In his programme notes, West Ham club captain Mark Noble wrote: “Saying it and doing it are two totally different things… But we’re learning with every game we play and round we get through, and we’ve shown we are quick learners. We can’t win the tie tonight, but we can potentially lose it.”
2 hours to KO: Welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of West Ham vs. Lyon. We are live at London Stadium, in Stratford’s 2012 Olympic Park, for what Irons fans will hope is the first of many European quarter-finals in their relatively-new home.
Despite facing Champions League regulars and seven-time kings of France, West Ham approach this tie with confidence, rather than an underdog mentality.
The Hammers breezed through their Europa League group with 13 points from their first five games, being afforded the luxury of effectively playing the reserves for a narrow matchday-six loss to Dinamo Zagreb. Then came March’s stirring comeback against Sevilla in the round of 16, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
Having fallen out of the top-four chase in the Premier League, glory in this competition represents West Ham’s best chance of an unlikely Champions League spot for next term.
Lyon, though, of course present a huge obstacle. Peter Bosz’s men came through a tough group featuring Rangers with a mammoth 16 points, before defeating FC Porto 2-1 on aggregate last month.
Their awful campaign in Ligue 1 sees Les Gones in 9th spot, so their eggs are firmly in the Europa League basket. With a squad featuring the likes of Moussa Dembele, Tanguy Ndombele and Houssem Aouar, there’s plenty to fear.
How to watch West Ham vs. Lyon
UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
Date | April 7 | April 7 | April 7 | April 8 |
Time | 20:00 | 15:00 ET | 15:00 ET | 06:00 AET |
TV channel | BT Sport 1 | – | – | – |
Streaming | BT Sport | Paramount+ | DAZN | Stan Sport |
In the US, Spanish-language coverage of the Europa League is available on fuboTV, which also offers a free trial to new subscribers.
In Canada, every Europa League game streams live on DAZN.
West Ham vs. Lyon betting odds
UK (Sky Bet) |
USA (DraftKings) |
Canada (Sports Interaction) |
|
[Home] Win | 21/20 | +110 | 2.00 |
Draw | 12/5 | +255 | 3.46 |
[Away] Win | 13/5 | +260 | 3.56 |
Over 2.5 Goals | 5/6 | -110 | 1.88 |
Both Teams to Score | 4/6 | -140 | 1.67 |
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