West Ham will fancy their chances of going far in the Europa League

West Ham United have not been mighty impressive in the premier league so far this season, however, they have been one of the standout teams in this season's UEFA Europa League competition.

The Hammers made it look easy as they navigated their six group stage matches, winning five of those matchups and suffering their only defeat on matchday 3 at the hands of Olympiacos.

West Ham United won the UEFA Europa Conference League last season to book a place in the Europa League group stages this season and after their impressive group stage display, they will be fancying their chances of going far in the competition at the expense of other top teams still present.

West Ham United in the Europa League

West Ham United is not a team with that much of a Europa League pedigree.

The Hammers’ participation in the UEFA Europa League over the years has been few and far between and their performance in the competition on these few occasions has been mediocre at best.

Before the start of this Europa League campaign, West Ham United had made six appearances in the competition since the 1999/00 season, failing to progress beyond the qualifying rounds in five of those six appearances in the competition.

Their best outing in the Europa League to date ended in a 3-1 aggregate semi-final defeat at the hands of eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2021/2022 season.

After a good showing at Europa League group stages, West Ham United heads straight into the round of 16 where another dance with familiar foe SC Freiburg awaits. The two teams have already squared off in the group stages with the Hammers edging out their German counterparts both away and at home.

West Ham United in the 2023/2024 Europa League

West Ham United is gearing up for another match-up against SC Freiburg on March 7 and March 14 in the round of 16.

The tickets to the game are selling fast. You can get West Ham tickets on Seatsnet.com.

West Ham United will be optimistic about their chances of going far in the Europa League this season after their dominant group-stage display barring the one defeat they suffered against Olympiacos.

The Hammers booked their place in this season's UEFA Europa League after their UEFA Europa Conference League triumph last season. The Europa League group stage draw saw West Ham United placed in group A alongside SC Freiburg, Olympiacos, and Backa Topola.

West Ham United finished top of group A with 15 points (5W, 0D, 1L) to earn themselves a spot in the round of 16. They found the back of the net 10 times and conceded only four times, making them joint second for the fewest goals conceded in this season's Europa League group stages.

The Hammers will be banking on their 2021/22 season semi-final run and last season's Europa Conference League triumph experience in navigating this season's knockout stages given the level of quality competitors still present in the Europa League.

West Ham United's opponents: SC Freiburg

SC Freiburg is another team without much of a Europa League pedigree. Their appearance in the competition this season is only their fourth in a decade, managing back-to-back Europa League round-of-16 appearances for the first time in their club history.

This season in the German Bundesliga, SC Freiburg have seriously struggled to replicate their impressive performances from last season which saw them claim fifth position and earn themselves a spot in this season's UEFA Europa League group stages.

SC Freiburg gave a good account of themselves in the group stages this season, gathering 12 points (4W, 0D, 2L) to finish in second place behind West Ham United in group A and secure a place in the Europa League knockout playoff rounds.

They faced RC Lens in the Europa League knockout play-off rounds, holding the UEFA Champions League dropouts to a goalless draw in the first leg away from home before narrowly edging out their opponents by a 3-2 scoreline in the second leg on home turf.

West Ham United's record against SC Freiburg

West Ham United and SC Freiburg have played two matches against each other. Those two matches happen to have been played in this season's Europa League group stages with the Hammers emerging victorious on both occasions.

The first match between the two was hosted by the German side at the Europa-Park Stadion. A very open game saw both teams attack each other non-stop with West Ham United eventually edging to a 2-1 victory courtesy of goals in either half from Lucas Paqueta and Nayef Aguerd respectively. Rolland Sallai scored SC Freiburg’s only goal of the match.

The second meeting turned out to be less even as a contest as West Ham United dominated and dictated proceedings at the London Stadium. A very strong first-half showing saw the Hammers go two goals up at halftime with goals from Mohamed Kudus and Edson Alvarez. The match eventually ended that way as Freiburg was unable to find a way back.

West Ham United vs SC Freiburg match predictions

West Ham United vs SC Freiburg will be played on March 7 and March 14 2024. The Hammers will travel to Germany for the first leg of this match-up on March 7 before welcoming SC Freiburg to the London Stadium for the second leg.

We expect another end-to-end encounter at the Europa-Park Stadion in the first leg as both teams will be looking to take charge of the tie.

The Hammers are however expected to seize control of this tie when they play hosts to their German counterparts in the second leg. Given how things played out in the group stages, the English side will have the psychological advantage going into this one.

We expect West Ham United to come out on top of this tie with a 3-1 aggregate result.