David Moyes believes West Ham United have what it takes to progress to a third successive European semi-final by becoming the first team to beat German Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen this season.
The Hammers head to the BayArena on Thursday night for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Xabi Alonso's men, who have so-far lost none, and drawn five, of their 41 outings during 2023/24.
Of course, Moyes recognises the challenge ahead of his charges, with Leverkusen currently 16 points in front of second-placed Bayern Munich at the top of their league standings, and into next month's German Cup final.
A run to the semi-finals of the Europa League two years ago however, and the unforgettable UEFA Europa Conference League triumph last term, have provided West Ham with invaluable experience on the continent that Moyes believes could be crucial as they look to make more history.
The manner in which the Irons saw off Leverkusen's compatriots SC Freiburg 5-0 in the round of 16 second leg, and 5-1 on aggregate, will have offered plenty of hope ahead of this clash, while they gathered useful winning momentum from Saturday's Premier League triumph at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening, the manager addressed the threat posed by Leverkusen, and spoke about a couple of his important performers over the season so far...
I see it as a great opportunity, I really do.
We’ve had a pretty good run in Europe, we’ve played a lot of good teams in Europe and as things go, the challenge we’ve got against a team who are 16 points clear in the Bundesliga is a big one. But one hopefully that we can rise to and perform well.
It might feel similar to the Sevilla tie, when the expectation was with the opponent, but we’ve grown as a Club since then.
We’ve had a really good run of getting to a semi-final and a final, so I don't think we're coming here without an expectancy of doing well.
Our record in Europe has been pretty good - we've won the group stages in all three years we've been in it. We’ve gone on quite far in it and we’re looking forward to it.
It’ll be a really difficult game, but one we're looking forward to, and it's a two-legged tie as well.
I see it as a bit of my character and my personality, as to getting results in big games.
I challenge the players to be better and that's why we'll need big leadership - and I've used that word a lot in some games in recent weeks.
We'll need the players to show a level of composure, tactical understanding, with the knowledge that we're in the first game in a two-legged tie away from home, against a side who are unbeaten in 41 games this season.
We have to try and be able to handle that as well.
Lucas Paquetá is hugely important to us.
He's been an important part of the side, he's a well-established Brazilian international and he can bring attributes to the games which are really important to us.
You pull your hair out at times, but overall he's a pleasure to have and a pleasure to work with.
He's got some individual ability which you don't see often, but when you do you recognise it greatly and I think most people recognise that he's got some great talent.
We have to get him at his best, because at his best it gives us a greater chance.
Mohammed Kudus is not just important for this tie tomorrow, but he's been important for us all season.
He will be important for us going forward in the future as well. He's a young boy who has only just come into the Premier League and he's settled in incredibly well.
It's not easy to start well in the Premier League, and a lot of the players who come from overseas find it quite difficult, but I think Mo, though, because of the experience he's had - in Denmark, the Netherlands and now the Premier League - it has given him a better coverage of different leagues.
We're really enjoying the way he is playing for West Ham, I think he has a lot of development to come in the future and he's settling in nicely here.
