Eintracht Frankfurt vs. West Ham Predictions: Back Bowen to score and be carded

West Ham will look to turn around a 2-1 deficit as they head into their Europa League semi-final second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany on Thursday evening. We’ve asked @AnthonyEadson to preview the game and provide us with his best bets. 

After knocking out the mighty Barcelona in the quarter-finals, Frankfurt pulled off a 2-1 victory in London in the first leg against the Hammers. There’s plenty of hope though for David Moyes’ side, with the German outfit only winning one of their five Europa League games on home soil this campaign.

Frankfurt’s form has certainly been better on the road in this competition this season, and they got on the scoresheet inside 50 seconds at the London Stadium. West Ham will be pleased to still be in this tie after conceding so early, however, they have won just one of their last seven games in all competitions, with fatigue becoming a factor at the end of this long season.

Oliver Glasner’s side also head into this game in rather poor form. They are winless in six home matches in all formats, while the two victories in their last eleven outings, both came in this competition, against Barcelona and West Ham. 

Angelo Ogbonna and Ben Johnson are the only two absentees for David Moyes with Vladimir Coufal slotting in at right-back the only potential change from the first leg. Only two players who started the first leg featured from the off for Frankfurt at the weekend and they should revert to a similar set up to the first leg. Evan Ndicka and Kristijan Jakic are also now available after missing the trip to West Ham due to suspension. 

A week ago our tipster Joshua Jones correctly recommended Ansgar Knauff to have a shot on target and I’m backing the same in this second leg. 7/4 was on show last week and although the price offered this time round is shorter at 13/10, I still think it’s a price that holds some value. 

The attacking winger has been featuring as a wing-back for most of this season for Frankfurt and has scored twice in five matches in the Europa League knockout stage. Having a look back at his shot data and no other player is averaging more shots per game in this competition this season for Frankfurth than Knauff, with an impressive 2.8 per game.

When it comes to hitting the target, the Ghanian has been in really good form over the last few months, registering at least one shot on target in eight of his last 11 starts for Frankfurt. West Ham need to attack here and this can lead to the home side getting in down the right and hopefully lead to a shot on target from Knauff. 

For my second selection of the evening, I’ve had a bit of loose change on Jarrod Bowen to score and be carded. This is available at 18/1 via the Bet Builder feature with Paddy Power, although thanks to a generous boost, we’ve been given 25/1, which can be backed by clicking the link above. 

It’s been a fantastic season for Bowen under David Moyes with the former Hull City man now odds-on at 10/11 with Skybet to make Gareth Southgate’s 23-man World Cup squad. Bowen is West Ham’s top scorer in the Premier League in 2021/2022 with 10 goals as well as eight assists to his name, whilst in the Europa League, he has started five matches and has scored in three of those. 

With 16 goals in all formats, there’s no denying Bowen’s threat in the final third, but I’m also drawn towards him picking up a card against Frankfurt. With four yellows in 31 starts in the Premier League, quotes of around 5/1 to be carded do not scream value. However, with a caution in Europe as well as another in the League Cup it takes his tally to six and I think there’s a case to be made for him picking up a card in Germany in a game of such magnitude. 

What’s interesting here is that in the six games that Bowen has been carded this season, he has actually scored also. With this in mind, 25/1 looks a really good price here on a selection that has landed four times already this term. 

The game can be seen live on BT Sport 1, kicking off at 8:00pm. Best of luck to those following and please always gamble responsibly.