We are almost officially one week away from English Premier League football and West Ham only have 2 preseason friendlies remaining. This one against Hertha BSC and then in the Betway Cup against Athletic Club Bilbao.
This match against Hertha Berlin will be like many other of the other Hammers preseason matches, solid and a good gauging point. West Ham has never faced off against this Bundesliga side before but the comparisons between the two are eerily similar.
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If you take last season’s performances alone it was close. The Hammer finished 10th and with 52 points. Die Alte Dame or The Old Lady finished 11th in the Bundesliga with 43 points. When you look at both clubs’ histories, they both ring the same bell; success back in the early years built around mid-table mediocrity.
The fan bases for both clubs often resemble themselves too. Both are blue-collar supporters with the occasional flare-up of letting everyone around them know how they feel. Two more comparisons, both are hosts in their country’s capitals and both play in former Olympic stadiums.
When you dig into the game plans for both teams, still pretty similar. In the most recent seasons, both clubs enjoy playing a bit more defensive usually having two defensive midfielders with some pace up the wings. We might see a little change for Pellegrini’s side this season, however.
West Ham will head back to Austria one more time this preseason for today’s match. The match will take place in Ritzlng, Austria at the Sonnenseestadion. Kickoff will be at 5 pm BST (12 pm EST – 9 am PST) for any American viewers. If you live in the UK or Ireland, you will be able to watch the match on the clubs’ official Facebook and Twitter channels as well as on whufc.com.
For viewers in America, you will be able to watch the match on ESPN 3 or the ESPN app. This is sure to be another exciting matchup for the Hammers and keep an eye out for the midfield as they will surely look to connect well again. Jack Wilshere was quoted by the club saying “It’s about the last little bits before the Premier League starts so this is a good game for us to work on a few things tactically and implement them into games.”
COME ON YOU IRONS!