So, Turf Moor away, then. In truth, West Ham United could not have been handed a tougher start to their first Championship campaign since 2011/12.
Two recently-relegated sides will raise the curtain in mid-August.
West Ham travel to Burnley on an opening day fixture which will ensure that at least one of the two pre-season title favourites will start their season on a very negative note.
The fixtures are out! How many points do West Ham NEED in the first 5 games?
Turf Moor is a tough start…
Following that trip to Lancashire, West Ham United have a couple of winnable fixtures against London rivals Charlton Athletic and then Watford, before hosting another Championship newcomer in Wolves and last season’s surprise packages Derby County at the London Stadium.
What would represent an acceptable start for Nuno Espirito Santo? A clean sweep, 15 out of 15, is the obvious answer. Failing that, a minimum of ten or eleven is a must, as some of Hammers News’ Talking Point readers insist.
After all, that would still be more than Vincent Kompany’s Burnley and Daniel Farke’s Leeds recorded after five matchdays…
West Ham United fans are hoping for a solid Championship start
“I’m looking at 15 points straight away,” one says as West Ham look ahead to a 46-game slog.
“15 would be good.”
“Win ’em all.”
“15 would be great. Come on you Irons!”
“Should be top of the league when we’ve played those fixtures. I said should be…”
“Won’t be happy with anything less than 15. We will be the first club ever to be unbeaten in the league, got £5 on it!”
Others though are more, well, not so much pessimistic as realistic. Some of the best teams in recent Championship history have had to bounce back from sluggish starts, after all.
Kompany’s Burnley racked up 101 points in 2022/23 but won only one of their first five matches. Farke’s title-winning centurions Leeds won only two of their first five in 2024/25.
The Fulham and Leicester sides who cruised to the title in 2022 and 2024 also failed to record a perfect 15 out of 15. So drop a few points here and there, and it is far from a disaster.
Eleven or twelve points should be a realistic aim for Nuno Espirito Santo
“Draw at Burnley, beat Charlton, beat Watford, draw with Wolves and beat Derby,” one fan predicts. “So, 11 points.”
“Win two, draw two, lose one. Don’t underestimate a lot of Championship teams. They are good teams,” one agrees, while another points out that West Ham made heavy weather of beating QPR in the FA Cup third round.
“No idea what team we will have yet. Oh and did we not struggle in the cup against QPR?”
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“Minimum of 11 [is needed] if it’s a genuine promotion push.”
“Twelve points would be seen as a reasonable start as there are a number of top clubs anchored down there.”
An opening day point at Burnley and a point at home to Wolves, plus victories over Charlton, Watford and Derby would certainly represent a solid, if imperfect beginning.
“Just need to win 30 games out of 46. Doesn’t matter in what order.”
“We need to win 30 games. Then we will be back where we belong.”
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