Talking Points | Moyes ready for UEFA Europa League round of 16 second leg.

David Moyes is hoping that the numerous great European memories his squad, staff and supporters have made over the last three years will help West Ham United beat SC Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.

The Hammers begin the game trailing by one goal to their German opponents from the first leg – the same situation they found themselves in when they hosted Spanish side Sevilla in the same competition two years ago this month – and knowing they must win on the night to advance to the quarter-finals.

Moyes’ Irons came from behind in 2022, roared on by a vociferous Claret and Blue Army, and the manager believes that with the West Ham fans behind them, his current squad can rise to the occasion again in 2024, despite the second-leg tie’s unusual 5.45pm kick-off time.

Moyes anticipates a tough match against opponents he has already seen three times in the current European campaign, despite the importance of keeping a clean sheet and a clinical goal-scoring performance.

It’s a big task, but we’ve done it before and plan to do it again.

We’ve played Freiburg three times this season, so we’ll try to win.

We all know what the conclusion needs to be, and whether we win in 90 minutes or over 120 minutes, we have to do it one way or the other, so I believe our emphasis in every aspect is just on how we’re

The most vivid memory will be of Sevilla, when we had to come from behind against a team that had won the competition several times previously.

So, I think it was a difficult challenge for us. It took us 120 minutes to finish the task that night.

That will always be a fond recollection of the European period in which we were involved, but Freiburg is a solid Bundesliga team that is challenging in Europe again.

As I previously stated, we have beaten them a few times this season. They’ve beaten us once before, so this one is very essential because it gets you through to the next round.