West Ham star Tomas Soucek received a violent threat from a Millwall fan ahead of the London rivals' hotly-anticipated clash this weekend.

The Hammers travel to The Den on Saturday where they will meet for the first time in 14 years, in what is widely-regarded as one of the fiercest rivalries in English football.

Czech international Soucek, 31, is nursing an ankle injury and has not featured for the Hammers this season, but has cheered Nuno Espirito Santo's team on from the sidelines.

However, the midfielder has been warned to stay away from The Den by a Millwall supporter during a chance encounter in public.

In a video clip that has been shared on social media, Soucek was warned: 'If I see you at the Den next Saturday I'm going to cut your f***ing face off, you ****.'

Previous contests between Millwall and West Ham have been marred by racism aimed at players from both sets of fans, while a 44-year-old fan was stabbed in the chest when the two teams met in the League Cup in August 2009.

That particular contest saw three pitch invasions unfold, while hundreds of Hammers fans congregated outside the club's former stadium, Upton Park, at full time, where police were bombarded with flying crates and bottles.

The Met deployed 200 riot officers, at least 20 mounted officers and a helicopter for the game, which one Millwall fan described as feeling like a 'war zone'.

The Millwall fan told the BBC: 'It was like a war zone outside the stadium. There was fighting all round.

'I brought my kids with me tonight and they've seen some violence that is indescribable.'

A local kebab shop owner added: 'All hell broke loose - it was very frightening.

'Bottles and bricks were being thrown from the back and some were hitting West Ham fans at the front.

'There were loads of people with bloodied faces.'