Julen Lopetegui has already told West Ham what to expect from Aston Villa season opener

West Ham will begin life under Julen Lopetegui by welcoming Aston Villa to the London Stadium in the clubs' opening fixture of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

The top flight calendar for the upcoming campaign was confirmed on Tuesday morning. West Ham are to face the Villains on Saturday, August 14 in a 5:30 pm kick-off in London.

The Hammers welcomed Aston Villa to their home ground as recently as March, with goals from Michail Antonio and Nicolo Zaniolo ensuring the spoils were shared in a 1-1 draw. The now Champions League outfit won the reverse fixture at Villa Park 4-1 last October.

Lopetegui may have perhaps wished for an easier start on paper with Unai Emery's side the surprise package in the division last season. Aston Villa finished 4th in the Premier League last time out, securing European football in their highest placement since the division's inception.

However, West Ham nerves at taking on the Midlands side at the start of the season may be quashed by the knowledge that new coach Lopetegui knows Emery's ways very well. Both bosses managed in Spain at the same time, with the West Ham man at Sevilla while the Villains coach was at Villareal.

Speaking when in charge of Wolves, ahead of playing Aston Villa in the 2022/23 season, Lopetegui said: “We know each other a lot. He’s from the same part of Spain, the Basque Country, so I know him a lot and he knows me a lot, so tomorrow we are going to find each other again.

“I think he’s a very good coach, he has showed this in England, in Spain and in France, and he’s doing a very good job in his short amount of time at Aston Villa. Each coach has his style and his way to play, which he has, and his team is showing that in a very short space of time.

“He’s improved them a lot, in my opinion, and I wish him the best, but not for tomorrow. We are neighbours in our country, and I think that we have a big respect for each other. But tomorrow, we will have different responsibilities and different teams, and each of us want to win.”

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After playing Aston Villa, West Ham will travel to Crystal Palace before welcoming Manchester City to the London Stadium at the end of August. The Hammers don't leave the capital until November, when they travel to Nottingham Forest, with away days against Fulham, Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur before then.

West Ham have been proactive in the summer transfer window so far as Lopetegui hopes to have a full squad available for the visit of high-flying Aston Villa. Focusing on the side's strengths when at Wolves, he said: “They have improved a lot, from the first half of the season until now. They are a very good team, good players, very experienced coach.

"They have a very clear idea and have developed, and after they have the quality to damage you in each moment. They have very big players, so we have to have confidence in our players, our idea, to be able to beat them. We have to be very close to perfection to play against this kind of team.

“Above all, we have to put the focus on our strengths, be confident with our work, and we have to be ready. I prefer to talk about us, our strengths, because we have to be confident in our energy, our strengths, and put the focus to be able to compete with them.”