Just five days after Manchester City set the seal on the 2022-23 season by completing a Premier League/FA Cup/Champions League treble, the countdown to the 2023-24 campaign has begun with the release of the fixture list for year ahead.
Pep Guardiola’s City will attempt to become the first club in English league history, dating back to 1888, to win four successive titles. Meanwhile, last season’s runners-up Arsenal will hope to mark the 20th anniversary of Arsene Wenger’s team winning the league as the “Invincibles” by ending their two-decade wait to be crowned champions again.
Luton Town will be the smallest team to play in the Premier League, nine years after winning promotion from the National League, by hosting games at their 10,356-capacity Kenilworth Road stadium. Their only objective will be to survive in the top flight.
Mauricio Pochettino (Chelsea) and Ange Postecoglu (Tottenham Hotspur) start new managerial jobs, aiming to revive their clubs after disappointing seasons last time around.
With the fixtures now published and managers, players and supporters able to plot their path to success — or otherwise — here are the big talking points of the 2023-24 Premier League schedule.
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Manchester City handed dream start
Pep Guardiola’s treble winners start the season by facing two promoted teams in their first three games, with a trip to Burnley — managed by former City captain Vincent Kompany — launching their campaign on Friday, Aug. 11. After facing Newcastle United at the Etihad on Aug. 19, City then travel to Sheffield United before a home game against Fulham takes them into the first international break in early September.
There is a flipside, of course, to playing promoted teams early in the season. Confidence is still high from the previous campaign and the positive momentum can give those teams the impetus to start well. But compared to their rivals, City have a dream start and aside from the early clash with Newcastle, the first tricky fixture on their list is the away game at Arsenal on Oct. 7.
A six-week period in the autumn could be City’s big test, with a trip to Manchester United on Oct. 28 followed by Chelsea (away, Nov. 11), Liverpool (home, Nov. 25) and Tottenham (home, Dec. 2). And after being handed a dream start, City also close the season out with games they will expect win against Nottingham Forest (away), Wolverhampton Wanderers (home), Fulham (away) and West Ham United (home).
