Veteran West Ham defender James Collins has admitted his eagerness to pit his wits against one of the best strikers in the Premier League in the form of Romelu Lukaku.
The Hammers will be desperate for a win when they take on Ronald Koeman's Everton in an important league fixture on Saturday.
The task though won't be easy in any way for the hosts as Everton have enjoyed success against Slaven Bilic's side this season, with the only match between the two sides this term ending in a 2-0 win for the Toffees.
In addition, the Hammers will be worried about the Lukaku threat, with the striker having enjoyed considerable success while playing against the Londoners.
Lukaku has scored nine goals in the eleven matches he has played against West Ham, a fact that might be raising some alarm.
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Collins though is confident about being able to hand the Lukaku threat, despite admitting the Belgian is in superb form.
“I’ve played against loads of centre forwards in my time who are deadly in the box, and we will have to be on our toes as every team you play against these days seems to have a striker who is capable of scoring 20-plus goals a season, so in that respect it’s no different than any other game”, Collins told his club's official website.
“Of course, Lukaku has got a good record against us, and we probably haven’t defended as well against him as we could have done in games gone by.
“Physically, he has got everything, he is big, strong and he can finish so it’s going to be a tough game.
"He’s obviously on top of his game, but I’m happy with the way I’m playing at the minute, so I’m looking forward to pitting my wits against one of the best strikers in the Premier League.
“It’s going to be a tough afternoon for all of us at the back, but I’m pretty happy with my form at the moment and I’m looking forward to a good challenge.”
