West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek wants to face Rangers in Europa League
West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek has admitted that he wants to face Scottish champions Rangers in the Europa League last 16.
Rangers took a big 4-2 lead in the first leg against Borussia Dortmund, and they hold an advantage in the second leg at Ibrox on Thursday (24 February). West Ham, meanwhile, are assessing some of the teams they could face in the last 16.
Should the Gers progress to the next round, they could face a potential clash with the likes of West Ham. The draw for the last 16 will take place on Friday (25 February) at 11 am UK time.
Soucek told West Ham official website: “I’m looking forward to the draw, because I’ve been watching the games in the round before us.
“Teams still have their second legs on Thursday, so I’ll watch them, and also I will watch the draw if it’s possible.
“I’ve thought about a few teams I would like to play against, and if I could say one, it would be Rangers, because I want to play against them as a big rival.
“It could be a really good game for teams from England against Scotland, big rivals! It would be a really exciting game for the fans and also for us.”
Exciting
What a game that would be!
Rangers are one of the biggest clubs in the UK, and it could be a spectacle between two great clubs with a rich history.
Whenever you think of the Hammers preparing for the knock-out stages in European games, it gives you goosebumps.
Only a couple of years back, the Londoners were fighting for survival.
Now, they are aiming for a top-four place in the Premier League, and are still alive in European games. The progress made under David Moyes is massive.
At the same time, it will be interesting to see how the Hammers cope with this pressure.
The Hammers are struggling for form a bit, having managed just one win in their last five league games. The performance level has also dropped considerably, with some of the players badly struggling for form.
While West Ham are still in the race for the top four, they must get back to winning ways at the earliest.
In other West Ham news, Jack Wilshere says it was a dream to sign for the Irons in 2018 having joined his new club in Denmark.