“Hard to do worse” – Lyon chief braced for tough West Ham tie, sees Hammers as a ‘big team’

Seeing off Sevilla thanks to a late Andriy Yarmolenko goal in extra-time, West Ham United will face Lyon next in the Europa League.

Despite them currently being 10th in Ligue 1, they have shown up in Europe when needed, knocking out an unbeaten FC Porto in Liga NOS in the last round, meaning it isn’t the easiest of ties for the Hammers.

However, that’s not to say West Ham aren’t a worry for Lyon themselves, because the draw is far from an easy one, with David Moyes’ men having a cracking season of their own.

This was pointed out by the French club’s general manager Vincent Ponsot, who was asked about the Europa League draw, relayed by RMC Sport.

He said: “It’s a big piece. Sixth in the Premier League this year and sixth last year, two points off Chelsea. Big team and big draw, because beyond that there’s the winner of Eintracht Frankfurt-Barcelona. It’s a tough competition, you can see it with all the teams from the Champions League that have been knocked out in the Europa League.”

He then continued: “We knew we’d have big opponents. It’s true that with the current potential draw with West Ham and then potentially Barcelona in the semis, who will need to beat Frankfurt, it’s hard to do worse. We’ll gallantly play our bit.”

As you can see, Lyon aren’t exactly rejoicing at the draw, and considering West Ham have already seen off the team currently second in La Liga, they are preparing themselves for a tough games.

Previously mentioned by Ponsot, the Hammers currently sit sixth in the Premier League after 29 games, two points off Manchester United, winning 14 of their games and losing nine, drawing the other six.