West Ham United v Chelsea
Premier League, London Stadium, Friday 22 August 2025, 8pm BST
Premier League football returns to London Stadium on Friday night, with West Ham United set to entertain London rivals Chelsea in an enticing early-season derby under the lights.
Following last weekend's opening-day defeat at Sunderland, Graham Potter and his players will be determined to quickly bounce back with a positive display and result against a side largely tipped for success in 2025/26.
Enzo Maresca's Blues followed up their fourth-place Premier League finish and UEFA Europa Conference League title win by powering to FIFA Club World Cup glory in July, impressively beating European champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final in the US.
Now, they are hoping to build on that by pushing for what would be a first English top-flight title since 2016/17, and they have drafted in a number of high-profile signings over the summer - including Liam Delap, João Pedro and Jamie Gittens - in order to do just that.
A somewhat frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace in their first league outing of the fresh campaign on Sunday will have undoubtedly left Chelsea eager for more, with all signs pointing to a thrilling encounter when they make the short trip across the capital to face the Claret and Blue Army.
As the countdown to kick-off continues, scroll below for everything you need to know ahead of the fixture...
Tickets…
Tickets have sold out, but you can still be there as Season Ticket Holders who cannot attend relist their seats for other supporters to buy.
Click HERE to check availability, with prices starting at £50 Adults and £37.50 Concessions.
Supporters are urged to arrive early at London Stadium on Friday as security and ticket checks will be in place at all entry points.
Travel…
There are planned disruptions on the Mildmay, Suffragette, Weaver and Windrush lines on the London Overground, though TfL Underground services, plus the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Elizabeth line, are scheduled to run as normal. Supporters using these services are highly recommended to check their routes before departure.
There are minor disruptions expected across Greater Anglia and c2c mainline services, as well as the Southeastern network that serves Stratford International.
Stratford and Stratford City Bus Stations are located in close proximity to Stratford Station. Buses that run to these stations are numbers: 25, 86, 97, 104, 108, 158, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 425, 473, D8.
Supporters using public transport are advised to check their journeys before they travel, using resources such as TfL’s Journey Planner and the TfL Go app. Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website if travelling on the rail network.
There is no parking available at London Stadium. Restrictions will be in place and enforced in the local area.
How To Follow…
Friday’s 8pm kick-off has been selected for live broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports. If you live outside the UK, click HERE for details of Premier League listings in your territory.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app, and across our social media channels. We will also have a match report, highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle on our website and social media.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK on talkSPORT, and worldwide on our official website and app.
We Are West Ham. United...
West Ham United has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination. Equality, equity, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the Club and we are committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcome to attend our fixtures in a safe environment.
Any form of discriminatory behaviour or chanting, including homophobic chanting, is unacceptable; it has no place in football and has serious criminal consequences. West Ham United will take the strongest possible action against any individual found to be engaging in such behaviour, including potential lifetime bans and referral to the police.
The Club can also face disciplinary action if any of its supporters are found to have engaged in this behaviour, which is not representative of the West Ham United fanbase and will not be tolerated by the Club. Indeed, the Club was recently fined £120,000 and imposed with an action plan after fans engaged in discriminatory chanting during the 2024/25 season.
As well as fines, the FA can also impose sanctions such as a partial or full stadium closure. This sanction could be imposed on West Ham United if a section of supporters engage in discriminatory chanting in the 2025/26 or 2026/27 seasons.
West Ham United provides a number of support mechanisms on matchday to ensure that supporters can report any incidents discreetly and in confidence. To report any incidents during a match, you can speak with the nearest steward or Supporter Liaison Officer, or text our new reporting line on 07701 401966. You can also contact West Ham United at [email protected]. Please provide as much information as possible, including the stand, row, seat number, description of the offender and incident.
We believe that the overwhelming majority of West Ham United supporters share these values and will work with us to continue to protect the Club’s status as an equity leader in the Premier League, a position recognised and acknowledged through our award and continuous retention of the Advanced level Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard - the league’s highest accolade attainable in this area. Anyone attending matches who does not share these values, does not share the diverse and inclusive values that West Ham United and our community stand for.
View our Supporter Conduct Charter for more information by clicking HERE.
Official Programme…
Up to an incredible 132 pages for the whole of the fresh campaign, the publication remains the largest in English football, while once again each Premier League issue also comes with an eight-page pullout, complete with an eye-catching poster, a competitions page and plenty of games for our younger Hammers.
Still priced at just £4 (plus postage if purchasing online), the Official Programme represents superb value for money for supporters of all ages wanting exclusive interviews, attention-grabbing opinions and eye-catching photographs, plus the regular news, columns and statistics and insightful content from across all areas of the Club.
The Official Programme is the definitive Claret and Blue publication for West Ham fans.
Our second issue of the season - following the pre-season LOSC Lille edition earlier this month - is led by an extensive interview with summer signing El Hadji Malick Diouf, who discusses his early football memories in Senegal, making his mark in Norway and Czechia, and his first few weeks as a Hammer.
We have Jarrod Bowen’s captain’s column and words from Head Coach Graham Potter, exciting new features with Maximilian Kilman and Niclas Füllkrug, a chat with England international cricketer and West Ham fan Jamie Smith, and the first instalment of Steve Blowers’ new series marking 40 years since the success of 1985/86, in which he speaks to former Irons midfielder, and current Maidenhead United manager, Alan Devonshire.
Also featuring exclusive columns galore, stats and in-depth analysis from Analytics United, the latest news from our Academy, women’s team and Foundation, plus a half-time quiz, statistics and the lowdown on our opponents from Stamford Bridge, the Official Programme is packed full of content for you!
Click HERE to purchase your copy!
Team News…
Boss Graham Potter will hold his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. However, we know that goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, left wing-back El Hadji Malick Diouf and forward Callum Wilson will be looking for more gametime after making their West Ham debuts against Sunderland last time out, while defender Kyle Walker-Peters will be hoping to feature in Claret and Blue for the first time in competitive action.
For Chelsea, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Roméo Lavia and Benoît Badiashile are among their injury doubts, though Nicolas Jackson is available after being suspended for the Crystal Palace clash last weekend.
Opposition…
When Chelsea lost 2-1 at Aston Villa on 22 February this year to drop to seventh in the Premier League table, social media keyboard warriors, click-bait websites and vocal ex-players turned pundits were united in their calls for Enzo Maresca to be sacked.
The Blues had won just two of their last ten top-flight matches and had been eliminated from both domestic cup competitions.
Italian Maresca, just a few months after leading Leicester City to the EFL Championship title and been appointed as Chelsea’s head coach, was reportedly under growing pressure.
Ignoring the noise, Chelsea’s owners stood firm, with director Jonathan Goldstein saying at the time: “We’re very optimistic for the rest of the season in how that plays out.”
That optimism was well-placed as Chelsea won eight and lost just two of their remaining 12 Premier League matches to finish fourth and qualify directly for this season’s UEFA Champions League league phase.
What is more, Maresca led his young team past FC Copenhagen of Denmark, Legia Warsaw of Poland and Djurgårdens IF of Sweden to the UEFA Conference League final. There, the Italian’s side scored four second-half goals to see off the challenge of Real Betis of Spain, managed by his former boss at West Ham United, Manuel Pellegrini.
Then, having qualified as winners of the UEFA Champions League in 2021, Chelsea took part in the new 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in June/July.
Maresca’s men defeated Los Angeles FC and Espérance de Tunis to reach the round of 16, then overcame Benfica of Portugal and Palmeiras and Fluminense of Brazil to reach the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. There, they silenced every possible critic by dismissing European champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to become World Cup winners.
Of 64 matches Maresca has managed since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in July 2024, Chelsea have won 41 and lost just 14, scoring 137 goals in the process.
Doubts have been raised by those same keyboard warriors, websites and pundits since the BlueCo consortium took ownership of the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022, with hundreds of millions of pounds being reportedly spent on young, often unproven players.
However, under Maresca’s confident guidance, Chelsea have quickly developed into a team to be feared and, as the 2025/26 season gets underway, are rated fourth favourites to be crowned Premier League champions next May. Considering how well things have gone since that defeat at Villa Park, you could certainly see Maresca lifting another trophy at the season’s end.
Previous Meetings…
The Hammers will play match number 125 against Chelsea on Friday.
While the overall record between the two sides is in the visitors’ favour, the Irons have enjoyed decent success at home against the Blues.
In the last eleven fixtures across all competitions played at the Boleyn Ground and London Stadium, West Ham have won six match-ups. Chelsea have won on three occasions, while two have ended in draws.
The most recent Premier League meeting at London Stadium ended 3-0 to Chelsea in September 2024, but before that, towards the start of 2023/24, Nayef Aguerd, Michail Antonio and Lucas Paquetá netted in a convincing 3-1 win.
The very first match between the two teams in the Premier League, in October 1993, was also won by West Ham. A Trevor Morley finish late in the first half secured a 1-0 triumph for the Irons at the Boleyn Ground, in a match that saw Dennis Wise sent off for the Blues just a minute later!
Match Officials…
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring
Fourth Official: Simon Hooper
VAR: Jarred Gillett
Assistant VAR: Tim Robinson
Michael Oliver will referee a West Ham United fixture for the 46th time in his illustrious career on Friday evening.
It will also be a landmark match for Oliver, as it will be the 400th time he takes charge of a Premier League game.
Born in Ashington, Northumberland, 40-year-old Oliver was introduced to refereeing by his father, Clive, at the age of 14 and became the youngest referee to officiate at Wembley Stadium when he took charge of the 2007 Conference National play-off final, aged just 22.
He had already become the youngest Football League assistant referee and referee when he became the youngest Premier League referee when he took charge of Birmingham City’s 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers on 21 August 2010, aged 25.
Since that historic day, Oliver has refereed two FA Cup finals, in 2018 and 2021, the EFL Cup final in 2016, UEFA Super Cup final in 2022 and EFL Championship Play-Off final in 2023.
As mentioned, he is one short of 400 Premier League appointments and has passed 750 matches at all levels, including 39 in the UEFA Champions League.
Included in those 765 games were three at UEFA Euro 2020, three at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2024 and the 2025 UEFA Nations League final.
For more information about the officials, click HERE.
