Despite rallying cries from the manager, players and fellow fans West Ham are struggling to fill the London Stadium for Freiburg.
To advance to the quarterfinals of the Europa League last 16, West Ham have to overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first leg against Freiburg.
It’s a “do or die” match when the Germans visit the London Stadium on Thursday.
As a reward for winning their group, David Moyes’ team received home advantage in the second leg.
However, the fact that there are still thousands of empty seats for the game poses a severe threat to that home advantage.
Manager and Hammers stars issue rallying cries
I reported that as of 11am on Monday West Ham had 12,878 tickets unsold for the big second leg against Freiburg.
That would mean an attendance of 49,622.
The manager, Vladimir Coufal and others have issued rallying cries to West Ham fans for the decider as they look to make the quarter-finals.
But you won’t believe how many tickets West Ham sold for Freiburg in 24 hours as UEFA call hits hard.
West Ham sell paltry number of tickets in 24 hours for big clash
As fans will be well aware, West Ham have been handed the ridiculous 5.45pm kick-off slot.
I have explained the reason for that decision on Hammers News previously. Essentially it is part of the UEFA broadcast deal and Liverpool – whose game with Sparta Prague is now a dead rubber after a 5-1 first leg thumping – were chosen for the 8pm slot.
Hammers supporters have vented their anger at the decision. It means thousands of fans are expected to take time off work in the middle of the week and battle peak rush hour to get to the London Stadium in time for the early kick-off.
That’s before having to negotiate the long queues for security checks at the ground.
And it’s having a major impact on the attendance as things stand.
UEFA call hits ticket uptake hard
Because West Ham have sold just 128 tickets for Freiburg in 24 hours as the UEFA call hits hard.
As of 11am on Tuesday, 12,750 tickets remain unsold for the game.
West Ham will be hoping for a surge in uptake over the next 36 hours or so.
The top source inside the club told Hammers News that they are predicting a gate of between 52-55k for the match – which would be between 8-10k short of capacity.
Thanks UEFA.
