West Ham midfielder Rice on Spurs clash: Tackles, atmos - it'll be feisty | OneFootball

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice expects a blood and thunder affair against Tottenham today.

The 22-year-old captained the Hammers in both meetings with Tottenham last season, the most recent of which ended in a 2-1 home win in February this year.

The England international is expected to lead the Irons out at London Stadium again on Sunday and he is eager to secure a similar result and help his team climb back into the top six.

“It'll be feisty, lots of tackles, a good atmosphere and two teams that want to win and we'll be ready and will go out there and give it everything to win the game," he predicted.

“Our target as a team is to do as well as we did last year. We want to push on and do better. We've started well in the Europa League, so we really want to carry that on and do well in that, as well as all the other competitions we're in."

The young midfielder also says his manager's guidance has been key to his fine form in Claret and Blue.

“The manager has just said to me to go out there and do what I do best and given me the confidence to go out there and perform.

“To be fair, that's all you can as for from a manager. I'm really lucky that I've got him as a manager and that we've got a really close relationship.

“Captaining West Ham in Europe is a really special moment every time, putting the armband on and walking out with thousands of us in the stadium."