West Ham United’s pre-season preparations for the 2017/18 Premier League campaign will see their tour of Europe conclude with a prestigious and historic encounter against Manchester City in Iceland.
Slaven Bilic’s side will face Pep Guardiola’s men in Reykjavik on Friday 4 August, in what will be the first-ever match between two English Premier League teams in Iceland, eight days before our big Premier League kick-off against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The clash against City will also see our new signing Pablo Zabaleta face his former club, and Bilic believes it will provide the perfect occasion to round-off the pre-season build-up.
The Hammers boss said: “It is fantastic that we will make history by becoming the first Premier League clubs to face each other in Iceland, and we are really looking forward to visiting Scandinavia, where there is a very big West Ham following.
“Iceland captured the imagination of everyone with their fantastic performance at the European Championships last year and, although the country is small in population, they have a huge love for football.
“It is also the perfect fixture for City and ourselves, because we have great respect for each other and will both be looking for the same positives from the game, in terms of fitness and preparation for the start of the Premier League season a week later.”
Prior to the trip to Scandinavia, the Hammers will begin their pre-season plans with two training camps – the first an 11-day stay in Austria, followed by a trip to Germany that will see back-to-back games played against Bundesliga side Werder Bremen in a two-legged Betway Cup encounter, sponsored by our principal partner.
From Germany, the squad will fly straight to Reykjavik on August 3, with the clash against City taking place the following day at Iceland’s national stadium Laugardalsvöllur.
Ticket and travel information for the match in Iceland will be announced on whufc.com soon.
First Team pre-season schedule
July 10-21: Training camp in Austria
July 24-August 3: Training camp in Germany
July 28: v Werder Bremen (Schneverdingen, Germany)
July 29: v Werder Bremen (Lohne, Germany)
August 4: v Manchester City (Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavik)
*Please note that all fixtures are subject to change.