The fixture list for the 2022/23 Premier League season was released on Thursday, with champions Manchester City at West Ham and the Erik ten Hag era at Manchester United starting with a home game against Brighton and a tough-looking run embarking on his new assignment.
City clinched the 2021/22 season title in exceptional fashion on the final day as they beat Aston Villa 3-2 and beat Liverpool 2-0 in a thrilling race. Pep Guardiola’s side are struggling to become the first Premier League team to win the trophy for three consecutive seasons since Manchester United in 2009 and the start of the season at the London Stadium before welcoming newly promoted Bournemouth.
The first meeting between last season’s top two takes place on October 15 when Guardiola’s men visit Anfield, with the match scheduled for April 1. Jurgen Klopp’s side start their campaign against newly promoted Fulham at Craven Cottage.
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Manchester United endured a nightmare 2021-22 season, ending with the lowest points tally of the Premier League era. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked mid-season and Ralf Rangnick took over on an interim basis, only to leave the club this summer before the end of his two-year advisory role.
Ten Hag is the latest man to try and stop the rot at Old Trafford and has had a difficult start in life at United, with a home game against Liverpool, the club’s third game of the season, on August 20. In that game last season, Solskjaer’s side suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in their history as Liverpool won 5-0.
United’s first 10 games of the season also include trips to Leicester and Everton, as well as visits to Arsenal. The first Manchester derby of the season takes place at the Etihad on October 1st, with the game at Old Trafford scheduled for January 14th.
The 2022-23 season begins with Crystal Palace against Arsenal on Friday 5 August and another seven-game program on Saturday, including Frank Lampard’s Everton, who host former club Chelsea.
Antonio Conte’s Tottenham beat Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to the Champions League spot last season and they open with a home game against Southampton, with the first North London derby of the season on October 1 in the Emirates.
CLUB EVENTS 2022-23
The Premier League is in its 30th year since its inception in 1992 and the new season takes a different shape to previous seasons, with the league pausing in November for the World Cup in Qatar. The last league games before the tournament will take place on November 12-13 and the Football Association have made a formal request to the Premier League asking that games between the ‘Big Six’ not be played this weekend before the World Cup begins to be scheduled, sources told ESPN.
There are no Big Six competitions this weekend. City host Brentford, Liverpool at home against Southampton, Chelsea at Newcastle, Tottenham host Leeds, Arsenal travel to Wolves and United meet Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The World Cup final takes place on December 18th and the Premier League returns on December 26th with a full schedule of fixtures including Liverpool at Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa, Leeds v Manchester City and a London derby between Arsenal and West Ham. The next round of games this season will not take place until New Year’s Eve in order to relieve the teams after the World Cup.
On the opening day, Nottingham Forest, back in the top flight for the first time in 23 years, begin with a trip to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle, while the other new boys from Bournemouth host Aston Villa.
Match schedules are subject to change as games are rescheduled for televised purposes and how teams might progress in domestic and European cup competitions.