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There was fighting talk from punchy West Ham last night as Michail Antonio predicted an almighty scrap in Lyon and manager David Moyes said: ‘Let’s see what we can do with 11 men.’
According to the striker, West Ham can win the Europa League. To do that, they will need to navigate their way beyond Lyon after the Ligue 1 side held them to a 1-1 draw in last week’s first leg.
Aaron Cresswell’s red card saw West Ham play with 10 men for the second half — Moussa Dembele caught winking after drawing the foul — but Moyes is confident they can overcome the French side tonight with 11.
Michail Antonio said West Ham were ready for a 'fight' in the second leg at Lyon
‘We’ve got a great chance,’ the Scot said. ‘If you had given me quarter-finals of the Europa League, 1-1, away from home, I’d have taken that. This is a really powerful position to be in. We’ve got a bit of toughness about us.
‘We played 45 minutes with 10 men, so let’s see what we can do with 11.’
One issue is West Ham will be without Kurt Zouma, the French defender who is now expected to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
Moyes considered using Declan Rice at centre back tonight, but feared it would be detrimental to take the England international out of his usual midfield role. Instead, Issa Diop is expected to start beside Craig Dawson.
Zouma’s absence did not dampen Antonio’s mood. Whereas players are usually reserved in their press conferences, the 32-year-old was full of confidence.
West Ham trained in London before travelling out to France for their date with destiny
‘The boys are buzzing,’ Antonio said. ‘The way things are going
