West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini believes the Hammers "can't be scared" of facing his former club Manchester City during their opening Premier League fixture.
The Chilean, who lifted the Premier League title during his time with the Citizens, will kick off his second season in charge of the London club against Pep Guardiola's men on Saturday August 10.
City have strengthened their squad heavily during the transfer window, breaking their transfer record to lure Rodri from Atletico Madrid as well as making Joao Cancelo the most expensive full-back in history, signing the Portugal international from Juventus.
On the other hand, West Ham have also bolstered their ranks, splashing out on the likes of Sebastian Haller from Frankfurt and Pablo Fornals from Villarreal, which should make the contest interesting.
Pellegrini believes that the Hammers can't allow City to impose themselves at the London Stadium.
"We will work as we need to do, not leaving out our style of play," he said during his pre-match press conference. "We can not be scared of them."
The former Real Madrid boss confirmed that Mark Noble would be the only first-team player to miss the clash and revealed his opinion on the strength of City's current squad.
Pellegrini said: "They have a good squad and manager, as always City will be fighting for the titles this season.
"It will be difficult, but they have won two in a row. But of course, they are one of the strongest teams in the divison."
