Aston Villa v West Ham

A cricket club's off-season boredom, four chapel lads, and one November evening in Handsworth gave English football one of its giants.

Four members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth, Birmingham, decided they needed something to do between cricket seasons. On 21 November 1874, they formed Aston Villa Football Club. Within a decade, the club had moved to a permanent ground and was competing at the highest level of English football.

Forged in the shipyards of Canning Town, West Ham's roots are as industrial as the hammers on their crest.

Arnold Hills, owner of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, founded Thames Ironworks FC on 29 June 1895. The club drew its players from the shipyard workers of Canning Town and the surrounding docks. In 1900, the club was reformed as West Ham United, taking its name from the local area and adopting the crossed hammers crest that endures to this day.

West Ham arrived in the First Division the very year they graced the first Wembley Cup Final; Villa were waiting.

West Ham won promotion to the First Division in 1923, the same year they reached the first FA Cup Final at Wembley. That promotion brought the Hammers into league competition with Aston Villa for the first time. The fixture quickly became a regular part of the English football season, with both clubs established in the top tier.

Villa's seventh FA Cup triumph in 1957 came courtesy of a 2-1 win over United; two years later, they were relegated.

Aston Villa won their seventh FA Cup in 1957, defeating Manchester United 2-1 at Wembley. It was a golden period for the club, though relegation would follow in 1959. West Ham, meanwhile, were building the side that would define their own golden era under Ron Greenwood, with Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters all coming through the academy.

Taylor's two goals won West Ham the Cup; Villa were quietly assembling a team that would conquer England six years later.

West Ham beat Fulham 2-0 in the 1975 FA Cup Final, with Alan Taylor scoring both goals. Villa, under Ron Saunders, won promotion from the Second Division that same year and were building the squad that would go on to win the league title in 1981. The two clubs were on converging paths, both ambitious and both steeped in tradition.

One Withe strike in Rotterdam put Villa among Europe's finest; nothing in the club's history has matched it since.

Peter Withe's goal against Bayern Munich in the De Kuip stadium gave Villa the European Cup, the greatest night in the club's history. It placed Villa in elite company and remains a defining moment for the club's identity. West Ham, for their part, would reach the top flight again in 1981 and the two sides resumed their regular meetings in the First Division.

Villa nearly stole the very first Premier League title, finishing runners-up in 1992-93.

The formation of the Premier League in 1992 saw both Aston Villa and West Ham among the 22 founding clubs. Villa finished runners-up to Manchester United in the inaugural 1992-93 season under Ron Atkinson. The fixture became a staple of the Premier League calendar, with both clubs spending the majority of the next three decades in the top flight.

Twenty-four years in the top flight, gone in a single dismal season.

The 2015-16 season was a watershed for both clubs. Villa were relegated from the Premier League after a dismal campaign, ending a 24-year stay in the top flight. West Ham, meanwhile, played their final season at the Boleyn Ground before moving to the London Stadium. The fixture was temporarily interrupted, but Villa's return to the Premier League in 2019 restored it to the calendar.

Forty-two years between European campaigns; Villa Park has earned its edge back.

Under Unai Emery, Aston Villa finished fourth in the 2023-24 Premier League season, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since their European Cup triumph in 1982. The club's resurgence under Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens' ownership has transformed Villa Park into one of the most formidable grounds in English football. Matches against West Ham now carry the added edge of a Villa side with genuine European ambitions.