New West Ham boss Graham Potter will look to make an immediate impact today as his team travel to face Aston Villa in this all-English Premier League third-round FA Cup match.
The former Brighton and Chelsea coach was only confirmed as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement on Thursday, but the Hammers will be hoping for a new-manager bounce in a competition that stands as their last remaining chance of claiming silverware this season.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will also see this tournament as his best chance of glory this term. However, the hosts will be without the suspended Jhon Durán and the injured John McGinn for this game.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live, wherever you are in the world.
Graham Potter is back in charge of a team for the first time since being sacked by Chelsea back in April 2023.
Aston Villa vs. West Ham: When and where?
Aston Villa take on West Ham United in this FA Cup third round tie at Villa Park in Birmingham on Friday, Jan. 10. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. GMT local time in the UK, which is 3 p.m. ET or 12 p.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 7 a.m. AEDT on Saturday, Jan. 11, in Australia.
How to watch the Aston Villa vs. West Ham game online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view EPL matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 25% speed loss in 2024 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That’s the equivalent of $6.67 a month.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Livestream the Aston Villa vs. West Ham game in the US
This third round clash is streaming exclusively live in the US on ESPN Plus. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. ET on Friday for viewers in the States.
ESPN’s standalone streaming service costs $12 a month or $120 for an annual subscription. With it, you’ll be able to watch all of this season’s FA Cup fixtures. Read our ESPN Plus review.
Can I livestream the Aston Villa vs. West Ham game in the UK?
The great news for footy fans in the UK is that free-to-air broadcasters the BBC and ITV are once again sharing live duties for this season’s FA Cup, with this game being shown on ITV.
Coverage begins on ITV1 at 7:30 p.m. BST ahead of the 8 p.m. kickoff.
As the match is being broadcast on ITV1, that means you’ll also have the option of watching the game online for free via the network’s on-demand streaming service, ITVX.
The service has an updated app that’s available for Android and Apple mobile devices, as well as a vast array of smart TVs.
Livestream Aston Villa vs. West Ham in Canada
Canadian soccer fans looking to watch this FA Cup fixture can watch all the action live via Sportsnet.
Sportsnet is available via most cable operators, but cord-cutters can subscribe to the network’s standalone streaming service Sportsnet Plus instead, with prices starting at CA$25 per month or CA$200 per year.
Livestream the Aston Villa vs. West Ham game in Australia
Football fans Down Under can watch FA Cup matches live on streaming service Optus Sport.
With exclusive rights to stream select FA Cup and all Premier League matches live this season, as well as German Bundesliga and Spanish La Liga games, streaming service Optus Sport is a particularly big draw for Aussie soccer fans.
If you’re already an Optus network customer, you can bag Optus Sport for a reduced price, with discounts bringing the price down to as low as AU$7 a month. If you’re not, a standalone monthly subscription to the service starts at AU$25.
Quick tips for streaming the FA Cup using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming FA Cup matches may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.