With the Premier League revealing their full fixture lists for next season, West Ham fans have been even more eager than usual to find out when they will be facing some of their biggest rivals.
With our move to The Olympic Stadium, it is a huge season for us in so many ways and the fixture list could play a huge part in how our season plays out.
Away to Chelsea is the opening game on the 13th August, in what will prove to be a particularly difficult fixture. We always up our game against Chelsea, but with new manager Antonio Conte coming in, they will be even more desperate than usual to get a result against us.
Our first Premier League match at The Olympic Stadium is against Bournemouth. Not quite the Tottenham or Manchester United that we were dreaming of, but after they beat us at home 3-4 last season, it could prove to be another thriller.
An away trip to Manchester City follows in a tricky opening 3 games.
September and October are quite kind to West Ham, with Everton away the toughest fixture within the 2 months, scheduled for the 29th October.
November sees us away to Tottenham and away to Manchester United before an Olympic Stadium clash with Arsenal and another tough away trip to Liverpool at the beginning of December. 4 games in a row that could be massive in our season, so we will be hoping to have a good September/October in case this run of games proves too much for the players.
January sees us welcoming Manchester United and Manchester City to The Olympic Stadium, while March we will see Chelsea and Leicester try their luck at our new ground.
The Tottenham home game isn’t until May, but will still prove to be one of the most electrifying of the season.
Our tough run of fixtures appear to be in quick succession, with some slightly tamer games also coming in groups. Whether this is a good thing or not will have to be seen, but I don’t think anyone will fancy their chances at our new ground this year.
Key home fixtures (all dates are not yet confirmed due to TV rights):
- Bournemouth – 20th August
- Watford – 10th September (first London derby)
- Arsenal – 3rd December
- Manchester United – 2nd January
- Manchester City – 31st January
- Chelsea – 4th March
- Leicester – 18th March
- Tottenham – 6th May
- Liverpool – 13th May
