Europa League pressure builds

Paris – Bayer Leverkusen and West Ham go into today both needing positive results to reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League after failing to win their first-leg ties.

A stoppage-time Patrik Schick equaliser spared Leverkusen’s blushes last week in Baku, and also maintained their unbeaten record this season, after Qarabag took a shock 2-0 lead against the runaway Bundesliga leaders.

“Maybe it’s true that the result is more fortunate for us than for Qarabag. Great respect, they perhaps deserved a better result,” said Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso (above) after the first-leg.

Despite the surprise 2-2 draw, Leverkusen showed no sign of slowing down in their pursuit of silverware at the weekend as they immediately bounced back with a home win against Wolfsburg in the league.

The form team in Europe now boast a record of 31 wins and five draws across all competitions this season, making them the first Bundesliga side to go without defeat in 36 consecutive matches.

As the search for Leverkusen’s first silverware in over 30 years reaches the business end of the season, Alonso and his charges will not want this momentum to stop abruptly at match 37 against the Azerbaijani champions.

Alonso said the Baku club “have quality players who are capable of playing in the top leagues” and they will be keen to continue to showcase their talents on the European stage.

Qarabag coach Gurban Gurbanov is confident his team can step up and perform at an even higher level than in the first-leg: “I’ll prepare the team to play even better in Germany.”

Leverkusen’s fellow tournament favourites Liverpool will likely have an easier ride today at Anfield after dispatching opponents Sparta Prague 5-1 last week.

Liverpool were boosted by the return of Mohamed Salah in the first-leg but with the tie all but sewn up already, it is likely manager Juergen Klopp will give more playing time to the squad’s youngsters.

On the south coast of England, Brighton have it all to do against Daniele De Rossi’s in-form Roma following a comprehensive 4-0 defeat in the Italian capital last week.

German side Freiburg take a 1-0 lead to West Ham but will still need to defy the Hammers’ impressive home record in Europe.

Europa Conference League holders West Ham have won all 10 of their last 10 European games at the London Stadium. –