When the balls were drawn for the first knockout tie in the Europa League, there were mixed feelings amongst fans about facing Freiburg. While West Ham had already played the German side in the group stage, they had also beaten them in both games with relative ease.
However, both teams will head into the game with confidence following back-to-back wins for the Hammers and a massive 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich for Freiburg. Midfielder James Ward-Prowse has conceded that it will be tougher to face the ‘Breisgau-Brasilianer’ this time, but he still believes that they can come away from the away leg with a good result.
“We’re all looking forward to getting stuck back into European competition,” Ward-Prowse told the official site. “It’s another good challenge for us, and I think we’re all going into it feeling good.”
“We’ve picked up two really good results in our last two games, and most of the squad are fit and on form now, so we have to be confident we can keep that run going and take a good result back to London Stadium.”
“It’s certainly not going to be an easy ride, though. It’s probably going to be tougher than when we’ve played them before, because they know a bit more about us now, and they’ll have extra motivation going into the tie. They’re going to be hard working, and they press very well, so they’re things we’re going to have to counteract, but we have to stay focused on what we can control and do our best to show our qualities.”
Although it is not a new team for the Irons, it is a new ground as they had to adhere to a ban on away fans in the group stage tie. “It’s definitely going to be a good atmosphere over there. It was loud without our supporters last time, so with the 2,000 or so that have got tickets it’s going to be great,” the No.7 explained. “They’ll be supporting us in their numbers like they always do, and that always gives us a boost.”
“From my perspective, the most important thing is that the team is getting the right results, but it is always nice to contribute. I feel I’ve contributed well in certain areas, but there are still plenty of games to come and hopefully I can grab plenty more goals and assists going forward.”
Across all competitions, the former Southampton captain has 16 goal involvements this season which includes 4 assists in the Europa League. If the Hammers are to continue their European tour they will need him to be on top form over the two legs.
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