West Ham vs Aston Villa Premier League: Live score, team news, updates

It seems Julen Lopetegui is in high spirits.

The new West Ham boss will most likely be nervous as kick-off edges closer, but he is not showing it.

A slight smile as he graces the London Stadium turf for the first time this Premier League season.

Will he be happy in a couple hours?

Once Aston Villa take the lead they rarely look back.

Last season, Unai Emery's side lost a league-low seven points from winning positions.

So, if you see Villa are 1-0 up, it means it's most likely curtains for West Ham.

Although, this is a new season. Times change.

At this point, I say this every match.

But it's because it's true, this is a fixture that should entertain us with lots of goals. I just know it.

The facts back me up too.

West Ham are on a run of 18 league matches without a clean sheet, they conceded a mammoth 74 goals last campaign.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa had the second-highest shot conversion in the league last season, with a rate of 14.8%.

This doesn't look good for the Hammers, I have to say.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the London Stadium:

Oh, the buzz of the opening day.

Fans of both sides are arriving at the London Stadium with complete optimism ahead of the new season.

In just a few hours they may have a very different outlook.

But enjoy it while you can, it's pure bliss.

It's not only West Ham with the bad omens.

Aston Villa may be a good side, but they absolutely hate playing away at West Ham.

Why, I hear you ask?

Well, they are winless in nine top-flight matches away to the Hammers since a 2-1 victory at Upton Park in April 2011.

Pretty rough record.

West Ham do not have the best of records on the opening day...

Wait, let me change that first sentence. They have a disastrous record.

The Hammers have fallen to defeat 15 times in their opening Premier League fixtures.

Yes, you read that right.

No side has ever lost more than the Hammers have on the first day of the English top flight.

Bad omen for them.

Phoar, what a player Ollie Watkins is.

Every Aston Villa fan knew just how good he was, but he became a national hero with his goal for England in the Euro 2024 semi-final this summer.

The fact that Villa have been able to hold onto Watkins is a real statement, plenty of clubs have been sniffing around him.

He delivered 19 goals last season, and 13 assists, will he carry his momentum into this season?

My prediction is yes.

Amadou Onana is the only new face to make Aston Villa's starting 11.

I have watched Onana in the flesh a fair few times, and I must say, he is a brilliant midfielder.

It was a real coup for Villa to pry him away from Everton, he was hot property.

He is filling in the hole left by Douglas Luiz today, so he has a massive job on his hands.

Can he deliver?

Aston Villa are back.

Unai Emery has stayed loyal to his team from last term with only Amadou Onana making inroads to the starting 11.

Ollie Watkins of course leads the line with Morgan Rogers and Leon Bailey either side of him.

Only two new signings make the bench - Ian Maatsen and Ross Barkley.

Erm, only two it seems...

Julen Lopetegui has named his first Premier League starting 11 as West Ham boss.

He has only named two of his summer signings in the starting line-up, Guido Rodriguez and Max Kilman.

there are four on the bench, however, including Crucensio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug.

A very strong squad.

• Crycensio Summerville
• Max Kilman
• Niclas Fullkrug
• Luis Guilherme
• Aaron Wan-Bissaka
• Jean-Clair Todibo
• Wes Foderingham
• Guido Rodriguez

I think we were all surprised by just how good Aston Villa were last season.

If you had told me that they would qualify for the Champions League this time last year, I would have just laughed at you.

The same can not be said this year.

Under Unai Emery, this is a Villa side who are no longer the underdogs, they have become one of the best teams in the country.

With that, people expect results.

Emery has been backed in the summer, with the likes of Ian Maatsen, Amadou Onana, and Samuel Iling-Juniour joining the side.

They have lost some big names too, such as Douglas Luiz, but you still expect them to pull through.

It will be interesting to see what they have got for us today.

West Ham look a lot different than they did just three short months ago.

Instead of David Moyes in the dugout, it's Julen Lopetegui, and there are lots of new faces in the squad.

With the money they have spent to bring players in, the pressure has been pumped up. The irons faithful are expectant.

Lopetegui will want to get the new era off to a winning start today to lay a marker down to the rest of the league.

The task at hand couldn't be much tougher, though. Not many teams got the better of Aston Villa last year.

I'm expecting these two to serve up a cracker.

Fancy another match? Of course, you do!

This is why I adore the Premier League, it's just non-stop action. How can you not enjoy it?

We cap off a brilliant day in style as Aston Villa travel to London to take on West Ham.

Expectations are high for Villa after they exceeded them last year by finishing in the top four.

But they are in for a tough challenge today as Julen Lopetegui's shiny new Hammers have brought in a lot of quality this summer.

I can't wait any longer to get this going, let the show begin.