West Ham United will play in front of more than 30,000 supporters, the Club’s biggest home crowd in nearly 18 months when they return to London Stadium to host Atalanta in the Betway Cup on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
With the game not being screened or streamed live in the UK due to broadcast restrictions, tickets are available today online and at the ticket office.
While we strongly encourage supporters to buy in advance, supporters will also be able to buy on the day – we recommend arriving early at the Stadium, as the Ticket Office is likely to be very busy. Lines are open until 5pm on Friday.
Team News
West Ham are likely to hand a debut to goalkeeper Alphonse Areola after the France international completed a season-long loan from Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday.
Atalanta have signed Argentina goalkeeper Juan Musso from Udinese and centre-back Matteo Lovato from Hellas Verona on permanent deals, while full-back Giuseppe Pezzella has arrived on loan from Parma.
Going the other way, Brazilian defender Roger Ibañez has joined Roma, Gambian forward Musa Barrow has transferred to Bologna, Denmark striker Andreas Cornelius has gone to Parma and goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini has moved to Tottenham Hotspur on loan.
Angelo Ogbonna is unlikely to feature in today’s game as he recovers from a hamstring injury but Conor Coventry is expected to get minutes on the pitch this afternoon.
Match details
Saturday’s match will see West Ham United take on Italian side Atalanta, with the winners being presented with the Betway Cup.
If the scores are level after 90 minutes, the winner will be decided on penalties. No extra-time will be played.
To minimise the disruptions and to ensure continuity of the football played, the number of occasions on which substitutions can be made during the second half will be restricted to three per team, although multiple substitutions can be made on each of these occasions. Additional occasions for substitutions shall be permitted in the event of a serious injury to a player arising during the second half after all three permitted occasions for substitutions have been made.
The opposition – Atalanta
Italian football has shrugged off its long-held reputation for defensive football in recent years, with the average goals per Serie A game rising from 2.56 a decade ago to 3.06 last season.
Leading the charge for more open, attacking football has been Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, the free-wheeling Lombards who have re-written the goalscoring record books in recent years.
Over the previous three seasons, Atalanta have netted no fewer than 265 Serie A goals at an average of 2.32 goals per game.
Under the leadership of owner Antonio Percassi, technical director Giovanni Sartori and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini – all three of them former players – Atalanta have scored more goals over the past three seasons than any team in Europe’s top five leagues bar Manchester City (280) and Paris Saint-Germain (267).
Previous meetings
Saturday’s game will be the first ever meeting between West Ham United and Atalanta.
Match officials
The game will be refereed by Stuart Attwell, who began refereeing seriously following his graduation from Stafford University and worked his way up through the West Midlands League and National League before joining the Football League list of referees in 2007.
Attwell was fast-tracked, becoming the youngest-ever referee to control a Premier League fixture when he officiated Blackburn Rovers’ 1-1 draw with Hull City in August 2008, and being added to the FIFA List later the same year at the age of just 26.
He has since refereed matches in the UEFA Europa League, Premier League, EFL and UEFA age-group tournaments.
Overall, the 38-year-old has refereed West Ham United 14 times since April 2008, when he took charge of the 1-0 Premier League win at Wigan Athletic.
Attwell will be assisted by Harry Lennard and Derek Eaton, while Damith Bandara will be the fourth official.
VAR will not be used.