West Ham must keep their heads to have a chance of toppling Sevilla in the Europa League tonight
(Picture: REUTERS)West Ham will hope to become the first English club to topple six-time winners Sevilla in the Europa League tonight.
The Hammers trail 1-0 from the first leg in Andalusia seven days ago, with David Moyes’ side paying the price for their profligacy as Munir El Haddadi scored the only goal of the game on the hour mark.
Moyes has called for a “bouncing atmosphere” on what is set to be a special night at the London Stadium as West Ham look to fight back and make history.
Here, Standard Sport’s Jack Rosser looks at the keys to victory for the home side...
Control Kounde
Sevilla have a wealth of attacking talent, but in Spain last week it was Jules Kounde setting the tempo. The defender was too often allowed to dictate the pace or step into midfield and drive Sevilla forward.
West Ham cannot allow the visitors to get a grip of the game and kill the atmosphere at the London Stadium tonight, meaning Kounde cannot be given a moment’s rest on the ball.
Keep your heads
Moyes is expecting Sevilla to draw from the Atletico Madrid playbook this evening. The Spanish champions did a number on Manchester United on Tuesday, frustrating the Red Devils with cheap free-kicks and time-wasting tactics.
It got to the United players at Old Trafford and played a significant role in their Champions League exit. The Hammers must not be drawn in by the dark arts.
Clinical touch
Too often in the crucial moments in recent weeks West Ham have lacked quality. It happened at Liverpool, Southampton in the FA Cup and in Seville last week. It cannot happen tonight if they are to make it through.
Andriy Yarmolenko and Pablo Fornals showed the way with their finishing against Aston Villa on Sunday and others must now follow their lead. West Ham are creating plenty of chances, someone just needs to take them.
