West Ham United v Manchester City
Premier League, London Stadium, Sunday 7 August, 4.30pm BST
West Ham United kick-off the 2022/23 Premier League season at London Stadium as we finished the last, with the visit of Manchester City.
Back in May, a 2-2 draw helped the Hammers continue the ultimately successful quest for European qualification, while it failed to stop City from going on to edge out Liverpool and win their fourth title in five seasons.
Jarrod Bowen scored both West Ham goals that afternoon and, fresh from making his England debut in the summer, the forward will be key to the hosts' chances of making it four home games without defeat against Pep Guardiola's side in all competitions.
Both Guardiola and opposite number David Moyes have made changes to their squads ahead of the campaign, with West Ham kicking-off a season without retired captain Mark Noble for the first time since 2003/04.
The Irons have brought in Gianluca Scamacca, Nayef Aguerd, Alphonse Areola and Flynn Downes, while City have signed Erling Braut Haaland, Kalvin Phillips and backup goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, but also sold Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko and also seen their captain, Fernandinho, depart.
With the capacity of London Stadium now up to 62,500, a record home crowd for a West Ham fixture will be in attendance.
The stage is set for a Super Sunday curtain raiser live on Sky Sports in the UK and being broadcast to hundreds of millions of Premier League fans across the world and, if last season's thriller is anything to go by, it will be a spectacular show.
Tickets…
With Sunday's match a complete 62,500 sell-out, the only way to secure a seat for our opening day fixture is via the Ticket Exchange by clicking here.
Seats for our home Premier League matches with Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur later in August are on General Sale, while tickets for our home UEFA Europa Conference play-off round first leg on Thursday 18 August are on sale to Season Ticket Holders and Bondholders now and on sale to Claret Members from 2pm on Monday 8 August.
Click here to secure your tickets now!
How To Follow…
Sunday's match will be broadcast live in the UK by Sky Sports and across the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners. You can also listen to live commentary in the UK on BBC Radio 5 Live.
You can also 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.
Travel...
Supporters are advised to check their journeys before travel, with resources such as TfL's Journey Planner or the TfL Go app helping to avoid some essential works across the transport network. Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website to plan their journey if traveling on the rail network.
There are some service disruptions that supporters should be aware of on Sunday 7 August:
c2c
- Due to Network Rail undertaking overhead line renewal between Upminster and Pitsea and Access for All schemes at Ockendon and Grays, these services will be diverted non-stop via an alternative route between Upminster and Pitsea and will not call at stations via Ockendon or Tilbury.
- Rail replacement will be in operation between West Horndon and Pitsea via Ockendon and Tilbury. Due to We Are FSTVL using the bus stops at Upminster station, the rail replacement service will be moved to start/terminate at West Horndon instead of Upminster on this date only. Passengers who require Upminster should use alternative c2c services from West Horndon.
Greater Anglia
- Due to platform extension work, Greater Anglia West Anglia services will not serve Stratford. Greater Anglia West Anglia services will be diverted into London Liverpool Street via Seven Sisters and Hackney Downs. No services will operate between Meridian Water and Stratford all weekend. Customers for Stratford should change onto Greater Anglia mainline/Southend Victoria services from London Liverpool Street.
London Overground
- There is no service between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon/Crystal Palace/Clapham Junction.
Elizabeth Line
- Services between Paddington and Abbey Wood will not operate on Sunday.
Piccadilly Line
- No service between Acton Town and Uxbridge. Use Metropolitan line services between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge. Replacement buses operate between Acton Town and Rayners Lane
Matchday Information...
West Ham United Season Ticket Holders attending Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Manchester City at London Stadium are reminded that they will need to download their NFC (Near-Field Communication) Season Tickets to their mobile phone ahead of the game.
For the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, all Hammers Season Ticket Holders will gain entry to London Stadium via their NFC Season Ticket – an efficient and convenient solution on matchdays, which is being rolled out across the Premier League, whereby supporters can simply tap their way into the ground via their NFC-enabled mobile phone device.
To download your ticket direct to your mobile phone, view our step-by-step guide by clicking here.
Official Programme
West Ham United's 116-page Official Programme returns for Sunday's Premier League home opener. The biggest issue in the Premier League, the Irons' Official Programme is available to order online now for just £4, plus £1.49 postage and packaging*.
Copies will be sent via first-class post. Full-season subscriptions are also available, including all Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup home issues, from just £119, from the Club's official West Ham Programmes shop.
Team News...
New signing Gianluca Scamacca could make his West Ham United debut following his move to east London from Italian Serie A club Sassuolo.
West Ham fan Flynn Downes could also make his competitive bow after arriving from EFL Championship side Swansea City.
David Moyes will definitely be without summer signing Nayef Aguerd, who suffered an ankle injury in the pre-season match at Rangers and has been ruled out for an extended period.
Opposition…
Manchester City kick-off the 2022/23 season seeking a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.
But while the champions have been consistent in their domination of the English top-flight in recent years, their squad has a decidedly fresh look as they go for top-spot again this term.
Captain Fernandinho, fellow Brazil international Gabriel Jesus, England forward Raheem Sterling and versatile Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko have all departed the Etihad Stadium.
Between them, the quartet had played 1,086 games, scored 254 goals and played their part in numerous seminal moments during Pep Guardiola’s six successful years as manager.
The Spaniard has already moved to fill three of the four gaps, signing Norway centre-forward Erling Braut Haaland – son of former City midfielder Alfie – and England central midfielder Kalvin Phillips in addition to the January capture of Argentina forward Julián Álvarez.
While City have done more business in a single summer transfer window in previous years during Guardiola’s tenure, this past few months do strike you as a major change in approach in the blue half of Manchester.
Previous Meetings...
West Ham United and Manchester City meet in the Premier League for the 43rd time on Sunday.
City have had the best of things down the years, winning 25 of the 42 meetings between the two, while West Ham have won just nine, with eight draws, including the 2-2 thriller here at London Stadium in May, when Jarrod Bowen put the Irons 2-0 up by half-time, City roared back to level, then Łukasz Fabiański saved a late penalty from Riyad Mahrez to secure the hosts a point.
West Ham's best Premier League result against City was a 4-1 win at the Boleyn Ground on 11 November 2000. Erling Braut Haaland's father Alf Inge was in the Manchester City team that day.
Amazingly, our record home and away victories over City both came in the same season, 1962/63, when the Hammers won 6-1 at Maine Road in September 1962 and 6-1 at the Boleyn Ground in May 1963.
Match Officials
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt & Simon Bennett
Fourth Official: Stuart Attwell
VAR: Mike Dean
Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart
Born in Ashington, Northumberland in February 1985, Michael Oliver has been a member of the Select Group of Referees since August 2010, when he was just 25.
Oliver started refereeing in the Northern Premier League from 2003 to 2005 before quickly working his way up through the National League and EFL to reach the Premier League in January 2010.
The 37-year-old refereed the 2007 Conference National and 2009 League One Play-Off finals and controlled the 2016 EFL Cup final, 2018 FA Cup final and 2021 FA Cup final, which saw Leicester City overcome Manchester City 1-0 to win the trophy.
Oliver was appointed to the FIFA List in 2012 and has since refereed competitive and friendly international, UEFA Champions League and Europa League fixtures.
He has refereed West Ham United on 35 occasions, including the penultimate game at the Boleyn Ground against Swansea City in May 2016. He took charge of five Hammers Premier League fixtures last season, including our 2-1 defeat at Manchester City in November 2021.
