Dinamo Zagreb forward Bruno Petkovic has revealed they have a specific plan to deal with West Ham’s Michail Antonio when the two sides meet this week.
West Ham travel to Croatia on Thursday for the beginning of their Europa League group stage campaign with a difficult clash against Dinamo Zagreb.
They will be looking to build on a solid start to the season so far, which has seen them pick up two wins and two draws from their first four games.
Key to their success has been Antonio, who has four goals and three assists in four games this season and recently made himself the Hammers top goalscorer in the Premier League era.
He’s a man in fine form and full of confidence, which is why David Moyes and co are heading to a tough tie full of confidence.
They will have to be wary of Zagreb, though, who have a history of upsetting the odds when it comes to Premier League sides.
Their last victims were Tottenham Hotspur, who faced the Croatians in the Europa League last 16 last season and looked to be on their way through after a 2-0 win in the first leg.
Things were turned on their head in the second leg, though, when Zagreb secured a shock 3-0 win to send Spurs crashing out.
Petkovic played in that game, and he’s warned West Ham they’re more than ready to repeat the trick.
“We will double him from the front and back. He is very good, but it would be wrong to focus only on him,” he told Index regarding Antonio.
“Tottenham is a very good team, and we have to watch out for all eleven players. Sorry, West Ham, Tottenham, we have beaten.
“They have United for the weekend, but they haven’t been in Europe for a long time, and they are hungry for good results in Europe.
“Everyone here is in the squad, except Perić and Čop, and you know that Ademi will play all 90 minutes even if he is not ready for them.”
