West Ham United’s first-team squad regrouped after a well-earned weekend off before flying out to Germany on Monday morning.
The Hammers will spend the next ten days in the German State of Lower Saxony, where they will train this week before contesting a Betway Cup double-header with local Bundesliga side Werder Bremen at the weekend.
Slaven Bilic’s side will seek to continue their unbeaten start to pre-season - the Hammers defeated Fulham and drew with Sturm Graz II in Austria - when they face Die Werderaner in Schneverdingen on Friday evening and Lohne on Saturday afternoon.
A third fixture is scheduled for Tuesday 1 August, when the Premier League side will tackle Regionaliga Nord outfit Altona 93 at the Adolf-Jager-Kampfbahn stadium in Germany’s second-largest city.
Ticket details for all three matches can be found online here. Alternatively, the games will be screened live on television in the UK by Premier Sports.
It's always an exciting time as the season approaches, welcoming new guys to the squad and getting to know them
Winston Reid
West Ham will welcome two experienced internationals into the squad on Monday, with new signing Marko Arnautovic linking up with the Hammers for the first time after completing his Club-record move from Stoke City on Saturday, while Jose Fonte returns after a post-FIFA Confederations Cup break.
Defender Winston Reid said the squad are looking forward to playing their final four pre-season fixtures: "It's always an exciting time as the season approaches, welcoming new guys to the squad and getting to know them.
"We've got Pablo, Joe and Marko in and, of course, we know them all very well from playing against them in the Premier League. They are all top, experienced players and they'll add a lot to the squad here.
"We'll be working hard on our fitness and sharpness in Germany with training and the three matches, then it's the big one against Manchester City in Iceland, where we all know football is really booming, so we can't wait for that game."
After flying from London’s Stansted Airport to Bremen Airport Hans Koschnick, the Hammers will board the team bus for the 35-mile ride to the district of Rotenburg, where they will be based during their stay in Germany.
Bilic and his staff will put the players through their paces at the local club TuS Bothel 1920.
There, they will take part in single and double training sessions on the pitch, while also working on their strength and conditioning in the gymnasium.
As was the case during West Ham’s recent visit to the Austrian town of Bad Waltersdorf, the camp will also enable the squad to spend valuable time together, with team bonding exercises planned and the players and staff eating all meals together as a group.
Following their ten-day stay in Germany, the players and staff will board a flight to Reykjavik on Thursday 3 August for the Super Match clash with Manchester City – the first all-English Premier League fixture to be played in Iceland.
The Hammers’ final pre-season match will take place at the Laugardsvollur national stadium on Friday 4 August at 2pm GMT (3pm UK time).