West Ham vs Frankfurt Europa League semi-final first-leg preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups

West Ham and Frankfurt meet in their UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday 28 April.

Where to watch West Ham vs Frankfurt

Fans can find their local UEFA Europa League broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

This will be the second time these teams have met in the semi-finals of a UEFA competition. West Ham edged the previous two-legged tie to reach the 1976 Cup Winners' Cup showpiece – although went on finish runners-up.

Forty-six years on, the Irons are through to the last four of a European tournament once again. Hitting three goals in 11 minutes either side of half-time, their stylish performance at quarter-final rivals Lyon atoned for a disappointing first leg in London.

Winners of the 1979/80 edition, Frankfurt took a three-goal lead to silence the Camp Nou in their quarter-final decider, with Rafael Borré's stunning long-range strike the pick of the bunch. However, it was "a bit too exciting at the end" for Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner, as a late Barcelona surge threatened to spoil their night, but they held firm to record a famous victory.

Starting line-ups

West Ham: Areola; Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Souček, Rice; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Frankfurt: Trapp; Touré, Tuta, Hinteregger; Knauff, Sow, Rode, Kostić; Kamada, Lindstrøm; Borré
Suspended: Jakić, Ndicka
Misses next match if booked: none

Form guide

West Ham 
Form (all competitions, most recent first): LDWLDW
Where they stand: 7th in English Premier League

Frankfurt
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DLWLDD
Where they stand: 9th in German Bundesliga

Expert predictions

Matthew Howarth, West Ham reporter
The biggest game in West Ham’s recent history is an incredibly tight one to call. It would be a grave mistake to underestimate Frankfurt, who tend to save their best performances for the European stage and could have won by a more comfortable margin at Barcelona in the quarter-final second leg. The Bundesliga side are a tough nut to crack, but the Hammers will be confident of establishing a first-leg lead to take to Germany next week.

Steffen Potter, Frankfurt reporter
With Evan N'Dicka suspended, Almamy Touré will retain his place from the Barcelona game while Tuta is back from suspension in defence. Other than that, I expect Eintracht to deploy the same starting XI as they did against the Blaugrana, though Djibril Sow, who is back from injury, could replace Sebastian Rode. Frankfurt can expect fewer chances than they got at Camp Nou, with West Ham and Eintracht both cautious by nature.

What the coaches say

David Moyes, West Ham manager: "It's great for West Ham – seeing the football, the teams. It's been a monumental period for us to get the semi-final of a European competition. I'm hoping we can keep it going. It'll be a great opportunity for us – like it will be for Eintracht Frankfurt. It won't be easy."

Oliver Glasner, Frankfurt coach: "West Ham are very compact. They are physically very strong, prefer a quick game into the forwards and are enormously dangerous from set pieces. It's going to be a difficult game, but we're looking forward to the challenge."

Where is the 2022 Europa League final?

Seville's Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium will stage the final on Wednesday 18 May.

The winners gain a place in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.