New Delhi: Two teams wearing claret and blue face off against each other in the opening matchday of the 2024/25 Premier League season when West Ham take on Aston Villa in their first game of the new season at the London stadium. Both teams are coming off the back of poor pre-seasons but will be looking to make a solid impression in the first matchday of the season.
West Ham look completely revamped from the side that finished 9th last season as they have a new manager at the helm as Julen Loptegui replaced David Moyes in the off-season. He inherited a talented pool of players like Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, James Ward Prowse, and Mo Kudus but their signings in the transfer window make them seem formidable.
The new additions of Max Kilman, Jean Claire Todibo, Guido Rodriguez, Crysencio Summerville, Niklas Fullkrug, Aaron Wan Bissaka and exciting Brazillian youngster Luis Guilherme, all seem to be top-class signings for the club and we can see a few of them take the field on Saturday. Their summer business has arguably been the best in the league and they’ll be hoping that this propels them further up the table this time.
Like their opponents on Saturday, Aston Villa have also been very active in the transfer market after a hugely successful previous campaign where they finished 4th to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Manager Unai Emery has made many new additions to the squad, keeping in mind the club’s heavy schedule in the upcoming season given they’ll also be competing in Europe.
Emery has added the likes of Ian Maatsen, Ross Barkley, Lewis Dobbin, Enzo Barrenechea, Jaden Philogene, Samuel Iling-Junior, and Amadou Onana among others and this group of players along with the ones that helped the team finish in the top four make for an intriguing squad that can take points away from the hosts on Saturday. The clash between these two teams promises to be exciting, with both teams looking primed to take away something from their encounter.
Team News
Both new signings could be set to start over the weekend for their respective sides. (Credits: Getty Images)
Both Aston Villa and West Ham seem to be heading into the opening matchday of the season bereft of any new injuries to their players. Both teams will be without one of their holding midfielders as Villa are yet to welcome Boubacar Kamara back into their squad while Edson Alvarez is the only absentee for the Hammers, who’s suffering from a thigh injury. We could see the Premier League debut of German International Niklas Fullkrug who could be set to start upfront for the London-based side.
Apart from Kamara, the Villans will also be without defender Tyrone Mings and backup keeper Rob Olsen but that isn’t likely to hamper their performance given that they have adequate backup. Between the two teams, they’ve made 16 new signings so we’re sure to see a lot of debuts in the match, including the likes of Ian Maatsen and Amadou Onana. However, this game might be a little too soon for West Ham’s latest signing, Aaron Wan Bissaka, who’s just joined the squad from Manchester United.
Predicted Lineups
West Ham XI (4-2-3-1): Alphonse Areola; Vladimir Coufal, Max Kilman, Jean Claire Todibo, Emerson; James Ward-Prowse, Guido Rodriguez; Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus; Niklas Fullkrug.
Aston Villa XI (4-3-3): Emi Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen; Amadou Onana, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans; Leon Bailey, Rogers, Ollie Watkins.
When and where to watch?
Fans can tune into the Star Sports Network at 10:00 pm to watch the West Ham vs Aston Villa game. For those looking for a streaming option, the match will also be streaming live on the Disney+ Hotstar website and app.
Match Prediction
The first match of the season is always difficult to predict given there’s very little information to go on. Pre-season is never a true indicator of the form that teams are in as they’re mostly played to maintain fitness while all new signings might take some time to settle into new surroundings. Both teams are in a similar spot heading into the opening matchday which makes this prediction even trickier.
Both West Ham and Aston Villa will have a closely contested affair in their opening game of the season but given Villa have made lesser changes to their first team and will have the same manager as they did in the previous campaign, that might just give the edge to the Villans away from home.
Final Score: West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa
As the Premier League is less than eight hours away, let’s dive in to find out how two of the most active teams in the transfer market fare heading into their first game of the season. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
