Premier League fixtures list announced
By Rayna Sidhu
This morning, the FA released the provisional fixture list for the 2017/18 season. It’s set to be another great season.
With club football just under two months away, fans will understandably hold onto any Premier League action they can. The fixtures list provides a new topic of conversation as everyone awaits transfers and the start of the new season.
These are, of course, only provisional. The dates and times may change once it is decided which games will be televised.
Champions Chelsea will host Burnley at Stamford Bridge for their first game to begin their attempt to retain the title. The Blues may encounter trouble, however, with the recovery time of Eden Hazard uncertain. The Belgian injured himself during training with the national team and may miss the first few games of the season. This means Chelsea may also miss him in Tottenham’s first game at Wembley.
The newly promoted teams will also have to be focused from the outset. Newcastle will face Tottenham at home, Huddersfield against Crystal Palace away, and Brighton have Manchester City at home. There will be no time to settle into the fast pace of the Premier League – these newbies will need to hit the ground running, literally.
More from The Top Flight
- Barcelona identify Newcastle star as Robert Lewandowski replacement
- Arsenal injury news: Mikel Arteta confirms “rapid” attacker suffered injury
- “600 days” Fans make SHOCK Chelsea revelation – They really are poor
- Arsenal transfer news: Mikel Arteta rivals Manchester United for wonderkid
- Manchester United: Erik ten Hag pinpoints 4 players amid Brighton loss
Another team who may be anxious to see how their season will play out is Arsenal. The Gunners ended last season with their manager, Arsene Wenger, signing a new two-year deal: the love-hate affair continues.
The controversy this caused will likely spill over into the new season. Wenger will need to have a strong plan to not only reunite his club, but also ensure Arsenal can seriously compete after their worst season finish in 20 years.
As for the lower league sides, the end of last season saw a relegation battle that technically engulfed the bottom six for quite some time. Watford, Burnley, Swansea and Crystal Palace were all safe by a fair margin in the end but there was a point where relegation was a possibility for them all. They will have to work hard in pre-season to make sure that they are not in the same situation again.
Other teams to watch will be Tottenham, who will play their season’s home games at Wembley, Everton, who are set to lose their best player Lukaku, and the two Manchester clubs who have already made significant moves in the transfer market. Leicester City are also likely to lose a key player in Mahrez, after he recently made clear that he wants to leave
Next: Premier League 'top seven' transfer roundup
The fixture list lays the foundations for what is sure to be another fantastic season in the Premier League. Before that though, there is the tricky business of transfers. The rumours are already flying and this summer will be full of them before the season is underway.