West Ham and Aston Villa Face Off in Premier League Opener

With the Premier League just around the corner, attention will turn to West Ham United on Saturday (17 August 2024) in their meeting with Aston Villa at London Stadium with a kick-off time of 5:30 PM. Both teams will be desperate to get their season off to a strong start in this opening match.

West HamWhen Julen Lopetegui wants to have his team play with a shape similar as 4-2-3-1 in West Ham, the presence of players like Lucas Paquetá and Michail Antonio will be key for this. A tactical manager, Lopetegui may choose to prioritise the maintenance of a strong midfield -- particularly given his desire for good progression and finish from deep with an emphasis on control.

Unai Emery will likely deploy his Aston Villa side in the same setup, using a 4-2-3-1. The Villans front line will be spearheaded by the ever-reliable Ollie Watkins. Often favoring a controlled defensive game but lightning-fast counter-attacks, Emery has worked in several European leagues.

Saturday 30th JulyBoth teams have been getting inconsistent results during their pre-season friendlies. Everything is not perfect as West Ham has drawn a game with Celta de Vigo and lost to Crystal Palace which could have been areas for improvement Lopetegui may be working on in training. In contrast, Athletic Club lost to Aston Villa and but beat Borussia Dortmund by the same scoreline while RB Leipzig held Emery's team to a 0-0 draw - therefore he has plenty of food for thought heading into Premier League kickoff.

In the few with West Ham, it is not unknown for fans of both clubs to confess that they would rather lose other matches and then beat this particular foe. It favours Aston Villa slightly from 107 games in all competitions: W 39 D34 L Jun-45 This gives the upcoming match an added layer of contention.

Besides that, the match-up is also a tactical battle between Lopetegui and Emery — two coaches who have had mixed luck over their former assignments. Fans are looking forward to seeing how new signings such Rotterdam-born Crysencio Summerville, from West Ham will adapt to the high intensity style of playing in England and if they can hit the ground running.

There, the two squads will no doubt prepare for a close game by employing more calculated gameplay decisions that may color the outcome of their respective seasons. The opener is a match, sure enough, but through it West Ham and Aston Villa tell us that they would like to move up in the world of the Premier League.