West Ham ace now walking a tightrope ahead of Lyon clash; Moyes will be wary of potential blow

West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice will be walking a tightrope in the first leg of the Irons’ Europa League clash against Lyon this Thursday.

David Moyes’s men will be over the moon with their run in this season’s Europa League as they prepare for Thursday night’s quarter-final tie against Ligue 1 outfit Lyon.

After losing 1-0 in the opening leg of the round 16 to a strong Sevilla side, who are the record six-time winners of the competition, Hammers fans waited in angst for the return leg at the London Stadium.

Following a first-half equaliser by Tomas Soucek, West Ham took the game to extra time, before Andriy Yarmolenko scored an emphatic winner, sending his side through to the quarter-finals.

As per club insiders Claret & Hugh, Declan Rice will be walking a tightrope in West Ham’s opener against Lyon.

The England international will be aware that if he receives a yellow card in either leg of the quarter-finals, this would result in him being suspended for a game, which would either come in the second leg or a potential semi-final first leg.

After the last eight, Rice’s disciplinary record will be wiped, meaning that he has to get through both legs of the Lyon tie without being booked in order to avoid a suspension.

Given this possibility, David Moyes will be very wary of pushing Rice too hard throughout the tie in case he makes a challenge warranting a yellow card.

However, Rice will be crucial if West Ham are to reach the next round of the competition. According to SofaScore ratings, the 23-year-old has been the Irons’ best player in the Europa League thus far.

Holding the midfield together, his ability to intercept opposition attacks, for which he ranks in the 94th percentile among players in Europe’s top five