How West Ham could line up in second leg clash against Bayer Leverkusen as injury woes worsen

West Ham United are in a precarious position as they host Bayer Leverkusen at the London Stadium for the Europa League quarter-final second leg tomorrow.

Manager David Moyes faces a monumental task, not only needing to overturn a two-goal deficit but also navigating a crippling injury crisis.

The Hammers have recorded just four wins in the last 20 games. Last week’s performance against Leverkusen was abysmal, leaving them with a mountain to climb.

Moyes needs an aggressive, positive-thinking approach against the Bundesliga champions to have a chance at turning the tie around.

However, Moyes may well be working with one hand tied behind his back as he could be without up to seven first-team players for the crucial contest.

The Premier League defeat against Fulham last weekend was compounded by a worrying head injury to young George Earthy, who is out alongside Kalvin Phillips and Alphonse Areola. 

Jarrod Bowen is also a major doubt despite returning to training, although Moyes may be forced to gamble on his fitness against Leverkusen.

Lucas Paqueta and Emerson Palmieri are suspended, while Konstantinos Mavropanos is also doubtful.

With a depleted squad and a mountain to climb, Moyes’ magic touch will be sorely needed if West Ham are to pull off a miracle against the German champions.

West Ham potential starting line-up:

(3-5-2): Lukasz Fabianski; Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell; Vladimir Coufal, Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek, James Ward-Prowse, Ben Johnson; Mohamed Kudus, Michail Antonio.