Hammers’ Masuaku to put Doucoure friendship aside

West Ham defender Arthur Masuaku may know Abdoulaye Doucoure very well but claims he won’t be going easy on his friend when they square off this weekend.

Both men moved to the Premiership last year, with Doucoure joining Watford from Rennes in January, before Masuaku made the switch to the London Stadium from Olympiakos over the summer.

The two are good pals from their time in the France U19s set-up but that won’t affect the Hammers left-back’s performance when they take on the Hornets this Saturday.

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“We played together for the France U19s,” explained Masuaku. “He is a very good player and a nice guy as well.

“When he came to Watford he didn’t feature at the beginning but he is now starting to play and I am very happy for him. He has adapted well to the Premier League.

“He is my friend, but when we play on Saturday we will not be friends!”

West Ham will also be seeking revenge, according to Masuaku, after spectacularly blowing a winning position in the first clash between the sides back in September.

Michail Antonio notched a double as the Hammers raced into a 2-0 lead inside 40 minutes at the London Stadium, only for Watford to come storming back and win the game 4-2.

“We want to get revenge on Saturday,” added Masuaku. “I remember the game and we played so well in the first 40 minutes and should have killed the game off.

“I don’t know how we lost but we want to make amends for that defeat and hopefully we can win on Saturday.

“We were unlucky not to get the three points in the last game against West Brom and we could have got the victory if certain decisions had not gone against us. Hopefully we will have more luck in the next game.”