Darren Bent and Jack Wilshere have suggested that West Ham United would cause Barcelona problems if the two sides met in the Europa League.
The Hammers breezed through their Europa League group. They picked up four wins as they finished top ahead of Dinamo Zagreb, Rapid Wien and Genk.
West Ham’s unbeaten record in the competition was ended on Thursday night as they lost 1-0 against Zagreb.
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David Moyes’ side have to wait until February to find out their opponents in the last 16. The likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig await as the European trio exited the Champions League.
Bent and Wilshere have discussed West Ham‘s Europa League prospects on talkSPORT. The former Spurs striker believes that if they faced Barcelona, it would be a “dream” for the Hammers:
“It would be the dream getting a club that size,” Bent said. “They are not the Barcelona of old, a shadow of what they were and the players they once had.
“Still, to get a club like Barcelona at West Ham in the Europa League… it’s a fantastic spectacle.
“You look at West Ham in this country – they’ve beaten Chelsea and Liverpool. They’ve beaten the kings of Europe, so there’s no reason why they wouldn’t have a chance against Barcelona.
“I think Barca would win.”
Ex-West Ham midfielder Wilshere went onto suggest that his former team could beat Barcelona at the London Stadium:
“I said this before. West Ham are better against the big teams because they accept they are not going to have possession.
“They beat City in the cup as well. This is a two-leg game, if it does happen. You would say City are the closest, in terms of style of play, to Barcelona and this game is potentially two months away.
“You will see a proper Xavi team by then. He’s come in and will change things. You’d like to think they’d have a lot of things they’d want from him by then.
“I think West Ham would sit in a low block and maybe nick a 1-0 at home and then just sit in away.”
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