West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction and Betting Tips: Side with Grimaldo in the Assist Market

West Ham take on newly crowned Bundesliga Champions Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie on Thursday evening. Check out our best bets for the game below.

The Hammers face an uphill task at the London Stadium as they look to overturn a two goal deficit from the first leg. Jonas Hoffman and Victor Boniface gave the German side a 2-0 win when the two teams met seven days ago at the BayArena with West Ham only recording one shot in the game. 

In stark contrast, Xabi Alonso’s men let off 33 shots in the first leg in a match they dominated from start to finish. As a result, Leverkusen are priced at just 1/20 to qualify for the semi-finals, while for those who believe West Ham can do the unthinkable, 14/1 is available.

Over the weekend, Leverkusen clinched their inaugural Bundesliga title, sparking jubilant celebrations as their supporters stormed the pitch following their commanding 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen. Holding a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, Leverkusen face a West Ham side missing their star player Lucas Paqueta due to suspension, leading us to believe they can score multiple goals.

Florian Wirtz has been a standout performer for Xabi Alonso’s squad this season, tallying an impressive 11 goals and 10 assists domestically. His goal tally equals that of any other Leverkusen player in the league, with three additional strikes in European competitions. With West Ham failing to keep a clean sheet in their last six matches across all competitions, Wirtz presents a strong case for finding the back of the net.

Another key member of the Leverkusen squad who has helped secure their historic league title is Alex Grimaldo. The Spaniard has recorded more assists than any other player in the Bundesliga this season and we are backing him to provide another here in London.

In total, Grimaldo has racked up 12 assists in the league this season, along with a further two in the Europa League. The 28-year-old will also be on corner duty for his side on Thursday and at 31/10, he makes appeal in the anytime assist market.