- West Ham United kick-off 2016/17 schedule with a visit to CenturyLink Field
- Game is first of two being played as part of 12-day US Tour
- Hammers could hand first appearances to four summer signings in Seattle
When and where?
Seattle Sounders v West Ham UnitedPre-season Match
Tuesday 5 July 2016, 7.30pm PT (Wednesday 6 July, 3.30am BST)
CenturyLink Field, 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134
What’s the story?
West Ham United kick-off their two-match pre-season US Tour by taking on MLS franchise Seattle Sounders at the stunning CenturyLink Field.The Hammers are at the start of their preparations for the 2016/17 Premier League campaign, while the Sounders are 16 games into their 2017 MLS Western Conference season, sitting ninth in the ten-team standings.
Slaven Bilic’s West Ham have been training at the Seattle Seahawks’ VMAC training complex since Saturday and will use all 22 of the players who have travelled to the Pacific Northwest.
Sigi Schmid’s Sounders returned from a 1-1 MLS draw at Toronto FC on Saturday and host Steven Gerrard’s LA Galaxy this coming weekend, so it remains to be seen what sort of team selection the German makes.
Team news?
West Ham will be without their Euro 2016 and a number of other international players, including Dimitri Payet, James Collins, Angelo Ogbonna, Darren Randolph, Cheikhou Kouyate and Enner Valencia. The game will come too early for Diafra Sakho, whose arrival in the US was delayed by a sickness bug, while Michail Antonio has remained in London to await the birth of his child.The Hammers have four new players as part of the touring party – Algeria winger Sofiane Feghouli, Norway midfielder Havard Nordtveit and young attackers Toni Martinez and Domingos Quina.
The Sounders may welcome back former Premier League star Clint Dempsey after the US national-team captain missed Saturday’s trip to Toronto due to his recent Copa America commitments. Sounders skipper and defender Brad Evans was also absent from the Canadian fixture due to a calf strain.