WEST HAM face an early showdown with deadly rivals Tottenham the fixtures revealed when they were published today. The Hammers are already facing Spurs in the Asia Cup at the end of July, and they will not have to wait long to renew their acquaintance whe

WEST HAM face an early showdown with deadly rivals Tottenham the fixtures revealed when they were published today.

The Hammers are already facing Spurs in the Asia Cup at the end of July, and they will not have to wait long to renew their acquaintance when Harry Redknapp's side arrive at Upton Park on August 22.

Gianfranco Zola's team will face Championship title-winners Wolves in their first game of the new season.

The Hammers will travel to Molineux on August 15 for a tricky clash against a newly-promoted club.

The teams coming up are often at their best early in the season as West Ham found out at West Brom in September of last year, crashing to a 3-2 defeat.

It will be the first time that West Ham have travelled on the first day of the season since they returned to the Premier League in August 2005.

The opening day of their promotion season in 2004-05 saw them travel to Leicester City for an opening day goalless draw, though West Ham fans will be hoping for something a little more exciting this time round in the West Midlands.

On the face of it, West Ham's opening few games are perhaps not as daunting as they might have been.

Consecutive games against Aston Villa and Spurs in August will test them, but they are both at home, while the trips to Wolves and Blackburn in the opening month are fixtures where West Ham would look to glean some points.

Liverpool come to Upton Park in September, but the Hammers don't face another of the big four again until Arsenal arrive in east London on October 24.

New-boys Burnley will be in town on November 28, with the return at a no doubt chilly Turf Moor in February, while champions Manch-ester United visit Upton Park on December 5, with the match at Old Trafford at the end of February.

Boxing Day sees the now traditional fixture with Portsmouth, this time at West Ham, while there is once again no match on New Year's Day as the FA Cup third round is pencilled in for January 2.

West Ham do face a daunting double whammy in March when they travel to Chelsea and Arsenal in consecutive games, though they are sandwiched between more winnable home games against Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City.

They finish with a home game against Manchester City on May 9, and who knows, the two could be battling it out for a Europa League place. Stranger things have happened.

For the full list of Hammers' fixtures, see this week's Ilford Recorder.