Bayer Leverkusen are looking forward to their Europa League tie with Sporting Lisbon as Javier Hernandez continues his impressive scoring streak at the club.
Leverkusen and Sporting are set to meet in the round of 32 after being pitted together in Monday's draw, with the first leg due to be played at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Feb. 18 and the return game at the BayArena on Feb. 25.
And Leverkusen sporting executive Rudi Voller insists the German club are relishing the prospect of taking on a Sporting side that qualified for the knockout stages with a 3-1 defeat of Besiktas in their final group match.
"We want to stay in the competition until the very end. Sporting are a great test, it's a meeting at a high level," he told reporters.
Leverkusen dropped down into the Europa League after coming third behind Barcelona and Roma in Group E in the Champions League.
"Sporting lead the Portugese league ahead of Porto and Benfica. It'll be a great challenge and we'll have to use our full potential," Voller said. "It's a small advantage for us that we play away from home first."
Leverkusen will be able to count on the talents of Hernandez when they meet Sporting, with the Mexico international having bagged 17 goals in just 20 appearances for the club.
Hernandez, who arrived from Manchester United for a reported fee of €11 million in the summer, scored his first Bundesliga hat trick in the 5-0 defeat of Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.
The striker has scored a total of 10 goals in the Bundesliga and a further five in the Champions League, with 15 goals from his last 12 games.
Bild has labelled him Leverkusen's "most wicked signing" since former Brazil international Ze Roberto, whose breakthrough came during his time at the club from 1998 to 2002.
"Only €11m for a world star," the paper claimed and praised Leverkusen squad manager Jonas Boldt for the transfer.
Hernandez's goals have played a major role in keeping Leverkusen within reach of the Champions League positions in the Bundesliga.
Following the win against Gladbach, Bayern are now sitting in sixth and only two points behind Wolfsburg, currently in fourth spot.
Last week, Leverkusen suffered a 2-1 defeat at third-placed Hertha Berlin and newspapers in Germany hit out at the club.
"After the last couple of games it was said that we are the worst team in the league," Chicharito told Bild. "Now that we've won we are not the best team."