Can West Ham halt the unstoppable force that is Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen?
West Ham travel to Leverkusen hoping to be the first team to stop Xabi Alonso's runaway train, with the German side flying high and still fighting on three fronts.
It's in stark contrast with David Moyes' side, whose form at the closing stages of the season appears to be stuttering.
Here Flashscore picks out some of the key talking points ahead of the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night...
Leverkusen burnout or the freedom of no league concerns?
Bayer Leverkusen are on the cusp of a first Bundesliga title after they beat Union Berlin on Saturday, with Bayern Munich letting a two-goal lead slip in a 3-2 loss at Heidenheim.
It means Alonso's side need only three points from their remaining six fixtures in order to lift the Meisterschale.
They could do it with a victory when they host Werder Bremen on Sunday, the fixture that sits neatly between the two legs of their quarter-final against West Ham.
Alonso's side find themselves in that dominant position because they have not lost a single game across their 41 fixtures so far this season.
That incredible stat makes them a side with huge momentum and confidence, but could it work against them? Will talk of the title seep into the dressing room too early and prove a distraction?
In all likelihood, no. The likelihood is that it will mean the German side can focus fully on doing a demolition job on West Ham knowing their league success is all but assured - but the Hammers will be expecting exactly that, and they are adamant they have prepared for it.
"It could be the toughest challenge yet. They haven't lost for a long time, and we know how well they have played this season," said defender Kurt Zouma on Wednesday.
"But, we are still confident. We know the qualities we have and we showed that against Freiburg. It's two legs, and hopefully we can get a good result tomorrow."
West Ham with bad recent form but recent European success
West Ham's form, on the other hand, is a cause for concern. The Hammers may have taken Freiburg apart 5-0 in the second leg of their last 16 tie, but it represented one of only four victories for Moyes' side in 2024 - a low return for the 17 fixtures they've played.
They also suffered a capitulation against Newcastle at the end of last month as the Magpies came from 3-1 behind to win 4-3. However, either side of that fixture came draws against Europe-chasing Aston Villa and Tottenham, suggesting there are perhaps shoots to suggest things are turning around.
The East London side also have a strong record in Europe in recent times, making the Europa League semi-finals in 2022 and winning the Europa Conference League by beating Fiorentina last year.
"We've been on a really good run over the last few years, so we're not coming here without expectancy. We've done very well in Europe over the last three years," Moyes told a press conference on Wednesday ahead of the first leg.
He added: "We'll need leadership, composure and tactical understanding in this tie, against a team who are unbeaten in 41, so we need to try and handle that."
Managerial approach - do styles really make fights?
West Ham are somewhat of an enigma in that they are seventh in the Premier League and through to a European quarter-final but their manager remains highly unpopular among the fanbase for his apparent lack of attacking will.
So much so that Moyes is not guaranteed a job at the end of this season, and if he doesn't stay on, one of the qualities that West Ham will no doubt be looking for in a manager is a clear attacking outlook.
Alonso, on the other hand, is known for employing an all-over attack in which any player on the team can score goals. It is what makes Leverkusen an easy team to support and a difficult team to defend against.
In addition to that, working against West Ham is the fact that their top scorer, Jarrod Bowen, will miss the match.
"Jarrod isn't with us, he's twisted his knee and there's some sort of damage. We can't give any dates of when he might be back, unfortunately," Moyes said.
So not only do West Ham have limited attacking options in terms of tactics, they now have limited attacking options in personnel as well.
In boxing, they say styles make fights, but West Ham may have to try to lull Leverkusen into a dogfight if they are to come away with any kind of result in Germany.
Expect a late show from Kudus and Schick
Despite what the statistics suggest about The Germans’ dominance in Europe and beyond – they are the only team left unbeaten in Europe this season – they very nearly didn’t make it to this stage.
In both legs of their last 16 tie against Qarabag of Azerbaijan, Bayer Leverkusen were forced to fight back from 2-0 down. In the first leg, they managed to settle for a 2-2 draw, while in the second they went all the way and won 3-2.
In the first leg it was Patrik Schick who secured the draw with a goal in stoppage time, and incredibly he scored twice in stoppage time in the second leg to turn things around and keep the winning run going.
West Ham have a finisher of their own; Mohammed Kudus has scored three goals across West Ham’s last three Europa League games, two of which arrived after the 75th minute.
With Bowen likely out, there will be even more expectation on the shoulders of Kudus, but regardless of the result, there is likely to be a mad scramble for goals in the closing stages with Kudus and Schick involved.
