West Ham United v Aston Villa
Premier League, London Stadium, Saturday 17 August 2024, 5.30pm BST
West Ham United’s 2024/25 Premier League season begins this weekend, with the Hammers opening the new season with a home fixture against Aston Villa.
Julen Lopetegui’s side head into the Saturday evening kick-off after a pre-season which has proven a mixed affair, with the Irons beating RC Celta de Vigo in the Betway Cup, National League outfit Dagenham & Redbridge and drawing with Hungarian champions Ferencváros.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, who are preparing for a first season in the UEFA Champions League since 1983 under the tutelage of Unai Emery, have also had a busy pre-season schedule, with victories over Walsall, Spartak Trnava and Atletico Bilbao.
Six spaces and 19 points separated the Irons and Villa last season, and both will be eager to make the best possible start to the new campaign in east London.
Tickets…
Tickets for this sold-out game are still available on the Ticket Exchange, with Season Ticket Holders who cannot attend this fixture relisting their seats for other supporters to buy.
Click HERE to check availability or relist.
Supporters are urged to arrive early at London Stadium on Saturday as security and ticket checks will be in place at all entry points.
Claret & Blue Day...
We are celebrating the start of the new Premier League season and the arrival of Head Coach Julen Lopetegui and eight new players with Claret and Blue Day!
London Stadium will be awash with our historic colours as 60,000 of our loyal supporters return to E20 for what promises to be an exciting fixture with Aston Villa.
Our new sleeve partner Intuit Quickbooks are powering a number of activations in and around London Stadium on Saturday, including face painters, bubble artists, a free poster giveaway, a limited edition set of postcards featuring imagery from the launch of our 2024/25 Home Kit for Club London members, a crowd surfing banner in the Bobby Moore Stand and DJ Lewis Jimenez, who will bring vibes to the stadium bowl before kick-off!
Travel…
There is no planned disruption to TfL Underground services on the Jubilee and Central lines. However, there are set to be partial closures to the Piccadilly line and London Overground services, and planned closures on the Waterloo & City line. Supporters utilising these lines are highly recommended to check their routes before departure.
Stratford and Stratford City Bus Stations are located in close proximity to Stratford Station. Buses that run to these stations are numbers: 25, 86, 97, 104, 108, 158, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 425, 473, D8.
Supporters using public transport are advised to check their journeys before they travel, using resources such as TfL’s Journey Planner and the TfL Go app. Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website if travelling on the rail network.
There is no parking available at London Stadium. Restrictions will be in place and enforced in the local area.
Official Programme…
At 116 pages, and just £4 per issue, West Ham United’s 2023/24 Official Programme represents superb value for money for supporters wanting exclusive interviews, attention-grabbing opinions and eye-catching photographs, plus the regular news, columns, statistics and insightful content from across all areas of the Club.
Saturday’s issue includes an in-depth interview and analysis of new Hammer Maximilian Kilman, features with Michail Antonio, Academy of Football graduate Kaelan Casey and former West Ham goalkeeper and coach Mervyn Day, while there is also a chat with lead singer of The Rifles and life-long West Ham fan Joel Stoker.
With Academy content focusing on talented youngster Ezra Mayers, who won the Dylan Tombides Award and Doris Bell Trophy last season, the latest from our women’s team, plus history, puzzles, statistics and the lowdown on our opponents from the West Midlands, the Official Programme is packed full of content for you!
Click HERE to order your copy now!
How To Follow…
West Ham United’s home Premier League match against Aston Villa has been selected for broadcast in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports.
If you live outside the UK, click HERE for details of Premier League listings in your territory.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app, and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle on our website and social media.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK on talkSPORT and worldwide on our official website and app.
Team News…
Manager Julen Lopetegui added Aaron Wan-Bissaka to his squad on Tuesday, when the full-back formally joined from Manchester United.
Wan-Bissaka is one of eight potential debutants along with fellow summer signings Luis Guilherme, Wes Foderingham, Maximilian Kilman, Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Füllkrug, Guido Rodríguez and Jean-Clair Todibo.
Lopetegui's only potential absentee is likely to be Edson Álvarez, who suffered a hamstring injury at the Copa América and has kept the midfielder out of pre-season, so the 26-year-old will be assessed ahead of the Hammers’ first game.
One confirmed absentee for Aston Villa this weekend is France midfielder Boubacar Kamara, who suffered a serious knee injury in February against Manchester United, while England defender Tyrone Mings has not featured during pre-season after missing the majority of the 2023/24 campaign.
Back-up goalkeeper Robin Olsen was withdrawn through injury against RB Leipzig at the start of the month and did not play against Club America, Athletic Club or Borussia Dortmund, making him a doubt for Saturday’s clash.
Villa have been even more active in the transfer market than West Ham, with a succession of players being recruited by the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
Left-back Ian Maatsen (Chelsea), midfielders Amadou Onana (Everton), Ross Barkley (Luton Town) and Enzo Barrenechea (Juventus), wingers Lewis Dobbin (Everton), Samuel Iling-Junior (Juventus), Omar Khedr (ZED) and Jaden Philogene (Hull City) and forward Cameron Archer (Sheffield United) are all potential debutants.
Opposition...
Aston Villa’s 2023/24 was a campaign for the ages thanks to one man: Unai Emery.
The Spaniard guided the Villains to a fourth-place finish in the Premier League, finishing above the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham, while earning UEFA Champions League qualification and taking the club back to Europe’s top club competition for the first time since 1983.
Prior to his arrival in B6, Emery helped build La Liga side Villareal into one of Spain’s most successful clubs. They hadn’t won anything until Emery arrived, and he helped them to the 2021 Europa League title, their first, his fourth. Timing is everything in football and Emery returned to England to complete some unfinished business in the Premier League with Villa.
Now, he’s proven why he’s one of the very best.
When Aston Villa swiftly replaced the outgoing Steven Gerrard with Emery in 2022, many pundits wouldn't have predicted such success in a short space of time, but Emery has surpassed anything that would’ve been expected, which is testament to his unique coaching style.
After ending a 41-year wait for Champions League football, not many managers would be tasked with reconstructing their midfield ahead of the new season, but that’s what been asked of the Hondarribia native. Villa have a new-look midfield for the 2024/25 season, with Enzo Barrenechea, Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana all making the move to Villa Park during the summer.
Even after a summer that saw Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby depart, Villa have not panicked and appear to have made some shrewd acquisitions.
Ian Maatsen and Cameron Archer already look like smart signings, while the arrivals of Jaden Philogene, Samuel Iling-Junior and Lewis Dobbin show that the future is bright for Aston Villa.
However, perhaps the best bit of business for the Villains this summer has been keeping a hold of their top goalscorer Ollie Watkins, who netted 27 goals in all competitions last season.
Previous Meetings...
Saturday’s contest is the 51st time West Ham United and Aston Villa have met in the Premier League.
Aston Villa ended an eight-year wait for victory over the Hammers when the sides met at Villa Park in last October, winning 4-1, before playing out a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at London Stadium in March.
However, the recent records are firmly in the West Ham’s favour. The Hammers have come out on top in five of the last ten head-to-heads, while Villa have only triumphed on one occasion and there have been four draws.
Pablo Fornals got the only goal in our last victory over Villa in August 2022.
We’ve also recorded 2-1, 4-1, 3-1 and 2-1 victories over the Villains over the last five years.
Prior to the Premier League’s introduction in 1993, our most memorable result against Villa was a 7-2 First Division victory achieved in August 1958, when Vic Keeble, John Dick and Malcolm Musgrove each scored twice.
Our best-ever result at Villa Park was a 5-1 First Division victory scored in April 1927, when Vic Watson (two), Stan Earle, Joseph Johnson and Jimmy Ruffell shared the visitors’ goals.
Match Officials...
Tony Harrington has been confirmed as the referee for West Ham United's 2024/25 Premier League opener at home to Aston Villa this weekend.
The 40-year-old will be the man in the middle for the Hammers’ clash at London Stadium on Saturday 17 August.
One of the newest top-flight referees, who was promoted to Select Group One ahead of the 2021/22 season, Harrington takes the whistle for just his second West Ham match. The first was our 2-1 Premier League win at Wolverhampton Wanderers in April this year.
Harrington refereed his first Premier League match in December 2021, and has gone on to take charge of 19 top-flight fixtures in total.
The Hartlepool-based official possesses plenty of EFL Championship experience, having refereed 189 matches in the second-tier from the 2013/14 campaign onwards, and was in charge of two Wembley finals in the space of a week in May 2021.
First he officiated the FA Trophy final between Hereford and Hornchurch, then he returned for Blackpool's EFL League Two Play-Off final victory over Lincoln City.
For more information about the officials, click here.
