West Ham United: David Moyes must bring on James Ward-Prowse at half-time to beat Freiburg
West Ham United got off to the perfect start in their huge Europa League round of 16 clash against SC Freiburg.
The two clubs are going head to head at the London Stadium in a second leg encounter on Thursday (14 March), with the German side having won the first leg 1-0.
The home fans have been in fine voice from the first whistle, with their superb support repaid after just nine minutes through Lucas Paqueta’s opener. Star winger Jarrod Bowen then added another to put the home side 2-0 ahead after 45 minutes.
Their half-time lead is made even more impressive amid the presence of James Ward-Prowse on the bench, with David Moyes instead opting for Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek in midfield from the start.
But the man in the dugout should turn to the former Southampton captain at the break if he wants to secure the victory, with Ward-Prowse certain to make a positive impact from the bench.
The midfielder very rarely has an off-day, with his ability to dictate the play very much appreciated by the Hammers faithful, while his stunning set-pieces need no introduction.
Can West Ham make it past SC Freiburg at the London Stadium?
It is a massive night for the hosts, who will have been extremely disappointed to have lost the first leg clash 1-0 in Germany.
They had plenty of chances to leave with a favourable result, but Hammers manager Moyes and his players now face an uphill task at the London Stadium.
Making the result more disappointing was the fact that the East London club had not only been on a two-match winning run after beating both Brentford and Everton, but they had overcome Freiburg in their two group league clashes earlier this season.
Moyes guided his side to a 2-1 win on the road, before securing another three group stage points with a 2-0 win at the London Stadium.
Finishing second in Group A, the Germans needed to overcome French side Lens in a play-off to make it to this round, which they just about managed in a 3-2 aggregate win.
Those in claret and blue now have a big 45 minutes ahead of them, with the home supporters undoubtedly expecting their club to progress to the next round.
In other West Ham news, Tim Steidten is ready to “pounce” on a Premier League defender who has a contract issue at his current club.
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