All English Premier League fans were waiting for the clock to strike 09:00 BST on Thursday morning.
It is not because there were any title processions happening or any big-money signings completed. In actual fact, all the excitement surrounding England’s top flight was thanks to the fixture release for the upcoming season.
As per the Premier League, all games will commence on Saturday, September 12, with six fixtures (12 teams battling each other) being played out on the opening day of football. Following soon after, four matches will be played the Monday evening, handing Chelsea and Wolves extended breaks for the time in European competitions.
Of the opening day spoils two fixture has been postponed until further notice. These games involve the two Manchester clubs, whose shows in their respective tournaments went on longer than the rest of the English. Dates will be confirmed later.
🚨 Announce 2020/21 #PLFixtures 🚨
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 20, 2020
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Once all teams have aligned their calendars together, every team will play each other on a Saturday, with there being no Friday night football, Super Sunday, nor Monday night football. This obviously the new norm considering the restrictions post-pandemic.
The fixture layout will remain this way until the busy festive period during December. The sad reality about this new norm, all encounters will feature simultaneously. This does create a huge problem for us watching from home (not that there should be any fans in the stands).
We will all be watching our favourite team play over any of the other games, which will lead to us missing some of the bigger events happening around England. A top-six clash, a London derby, a relegation scruff, or even a title matchup… You would have to pick and choose your poison between all of these mouth-watering options.
Sucks! But it beats no football being played at all.
Saturday, September 12 Fixtures
Crystal Palace vs. Southampton
Fulham vs. Arsenal
Liverpool vs. Leeds
Spurs vs. Everton
West Brom vs. Leicester City
West Ham vs. Newcastle
The Premier League’s published fixtures have the reigning champions, Liverpool, hosting the newly promoted and winners of the Championship, Leeds United in the first game of the season. Marcelo Bielsa’s side is involved in a mouth-watering return clash after 16 years of absence.
Amongst the traditional top six, Arsenal kicks off their season against the promoted Fulham in the first London derby of the campaign. Leicester will be the third and final team welcoming a newly promoted side when they travel to West Bromwich Albion.
Monday, September 14 Fixtures
Brighton vs. Chelsea
Sheffield United vs. Wolves
Crystal Palace and Southampton faceoff in a mid-table battle to see who can afford a good start to possibly a better Premier League run. The other match involving West Ham vs. Newcastle could be the first of many relegation battles. Or it could be a standoff between teams that could end mid-table as well.
The most intriguing of Saturday’s affairs will be Tottenham hosting Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Jose Mourinho versus Carlo Ancelotti. A quite decorated meeting between the two ex-Chelsea bosses. Should be a lot of fun to watch!
Postponed fixtures
Burnley vs. Man United
Man City vs. Aston Villa
Chelsea’s Monday night fixture against Brighton will be a tricky one. They will have fresh faces, as well as the Seagulls. This will presumably be the most anticipated fixture to watch, considering the class signings the Blues have completed this summer.
Then the next best match of Matchday 1 will be the meeting between Sheffield United and Wolves. Two teams that have enjoyed similars starts to their lives in the Premier League once they were promoted. A three-point start for either would suit their quest this season, which should be nothing less than Champions League football.
The number of cases post-pandemic has started to reduce. There is still time to bring back fans into stadiums. However, the talks of having fans at matches are ongoing and it may only be incorporated in the latter stages of the season.
Manchester United have officially enquired about the possibilities of bringing their faithful back to the ground with social distancing norms in place. With the Premier League 2020/21 season on the edge of restarting, clubs have to work on their transfer strategies and sign their players as soon as they can.