West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola believes Premier League rivals Fulham are good enough to defeat Juventus in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Cottagers take on the Italians in Turin and Zola, an Italian himself, believes the standard of the English competition gives Roy Hodgson's Fulham a strong chance against the Old Lady.

"I think it will be very close and Fulham have got a chance even against a famous club like Juventus," said Zola.

"That tells you that the Premier League is more competitive than Serie A. It is not that there are no good teams in Italy - there are.

"On paper they are very good. But right now the Premier league has got a different speed and different rhythm and everyone is sharper.

"Even Inter, Milan, Juventus, Roma are very good teams but they are not as sharp as the Premier League teams because the competition right now and the speed of the game is making everybody better.

"In the 90s, it was the same for Italy. The competition level was so high over there that everyone was getting better and better. Even myself. I noticed the difference when I came to England.

"Now the opposite is the case."