WEST HAM have made a request to Uefa asking to play the second leg of their Europa League qualifier at home - to ensure the Olympic Stadium is ready.
The Hammers' first fixture at their new Stratford home will be a third qualifying round clash against either Shakhtyor Soligorsk of Belarus or Slovenian side Domzale. They were pulled out of the hat first at the draw in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday afternoon and would ordinarily play the home leg first on July 28.
However, with the Anniversary Games being held at the Olympic Stadium the previous weekend, the club fear they would not have time to switch it back to 'football mode'. In a statement, the Hammers said both Shakhtyor and Domzale had agreed to the switch to August 4 in principle and a final decision should be ratified by Uefa in due course.
The teams are currently tied at 1-1 after the first leg, with the second leg to be played in Slovenia next week. West Ham were forced into playing a qualifier after being pipped for sixth place in the Premier League by Southampton on the final day of last season.
Slaven Bilic's side are taking on Italian champions Juventus in a friendly which was supposed to mark the opening of the stadium on Sunday, August 7, but are now set to host less glamorous opposition three days earlier. The capacity for the qualifier and the Juve game will be 54,000, but the stadium will be at its full 60,000 capacity for the first Premier League fixture against Bournemouth on Sunday, August 21.
Vice-chairman Karren Brady said: "We're delighted to be welcoming our supporters to the opening of our magnificent new home against Italian champions Juventus.
"It's fantastic to be kicking off this exciting new era for the club with European football, in preparation for the all-important first Premier League fixture against Bournemouth."
Meanwhile, Cliftonville will take on Spartak Moscow if they can come back from a 3-2 first leg defeat against Cypriots AEK Larnaca. Cork, who are tied at 1-1 with Swedish side Hacken, have been drawn against either Belgium's Genk or Podgorica of Montenegro. St Patrick's Athletic, who drew 1-1 with Dinamo Minsk of Belarus in their first leg, could face Welsh minnows Connah's Quay if they can come from 1-0 down against Serbian side Vojvodina.
Hibernian will take on German side Hertha Berlin if the Edinburgh outfit can overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit against Danish outfit Brondby. They will be without manager Neil Lennon on the touchline for the second leg after he was sent to the stands during the first match.
Hibs' city rivals Hearts, whose first leg in Malta ended 0-0 against Birkirkara, will be aiming to set up a tie against Russian side Krasnodar. Aberdeen, who are 3-0 up against Latvian side Ventspils, will face Maribor of Slovenia or Bulgarian side Levski Sofia, providing the Dons avoid trouble in their second leg.
