Bayer Leverkusen host West Ham for the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final (Picture: Getty)
Xabi Alonso says he is readying his Bayer Leverkusen side for a ‘big challenge’ against West Ham and has picked out David Moyes’ key players ahead of the two-legged Europa League quarter-final.
Leverkusen are enjoying an exceptional campaign in what is Alonso’s first full season as a first-team manager, with the club sitting 16 points clear of champions Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table and battling for silverware in the German cup and in Europe.
Alonso put the uncertainty over his future to bed last month as he announced that he would remain in charge beyond the summer amid strong interest from Liverpool and Bayern Munich, with incessant speculation threatening to become a distraction.
This evening, the 42-year-old Spaniard is anticipating one of his toughest challenges yet since taking over the reins at Leverkusen, as his team prepare to welcome West Ham to BayArena for the first leg of an intriguing contest.
The Hammers, last year’s Europa Conference League winners, secured a quarter-final spot with a resounding 5-1 aggregate victory over Freiburg last time out and will be brimming with confidence after coming from behind to win away at Wolves at the weekend.
While the Irons are without one of their star men in Jarrod Bowen, the club’s top scorer this season, Alonso underlined that the visitors boast quality all over the pitch as he spoke to the media at his pre-match press conference.
‘All their players are experienced. Bowen might be injured tomorrow, [Lucas] Paqueta is a great player, [Tomas] Soucek, [Michail] Antonio, [Mohammed] Kudus, there are a lot of players that we know,’ the Leverkusen boss told reporters.
Hammers forward Bowen will miss the first leg through injury (Picture: Getty)
‘[Konstantinos] Mavropanos, [Kurt] Zouma, they are all physically very strong players, good on the ball.
‘They won the Europa Conference League last season so they have experience in Europe so they know how to play well.
‘They can be patient, they can be defensive, we are aware of all of that for tomorrow and we want to control the match.’
Alonso committed his immediate future to Leverkusen last month (Picture: Getty)
The ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder considers the Premier League one of the most ‘competitive’ leagues on the planet and knows his Leverkusen team must ‘respect’ the opposition over the two legs.
‘For sure, the Premier League is, if not the most, one of the most competitive leagues in the world. You have not just a few teams, it could be seven or eight teams, that have top, top squads, hard to beat,’ he added.
‘I’ve spoken regularly with coaches there and they know that each game is really tough to prepare, tough to play and you have to play maybe three or four games in a row against top, top teams.
West Ham came from behind to beat Wolves at the weekend (Picture: Getty)
‘It’s a very exciting competition with so many great players, great coaches, great clubs, great stadiums, and West Ham is one of them for sure.
‘We are facing them with great respect but with great excitement that we have a great chance to go through.
‘We want to keep going in a great season and it’s a big challenge that we have against West Ham.’
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Victor Boniface missed 14 games through injury but could start against West Ham after coming on as a substitute in Leverkusen’s recent wins over Dusseldorf and Union Berlin.
Asked for an update on the forward’s fitness, Alonso replied: ‘He played a little bit against Union Berlin but he’s now ready to play from the first minute on.
‘It’s good for us to have this option that he’s with us and can play.’
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