Premier League fixture release LIVE: Man United open new season at home, it’s Chelsea vs Man City – before City get a dream run-in – and Arne Slot goes straight into Jurgen Klopp’s nightmare

Fairytale start for Ipswich

It doesn’t get much bigger than this for Kieran McKenna’s side.

The atmosphere at Portman Road will be absolutely electric!

The master against the apprentice (X2)

Stamford Bridge, Sunday August 18th, you don’t want to miss it.

Enzo Maresca is faced with the toughest possible task to begin his Chelsea reign, but he will up against a familiar face on the touchline.

Dubbed ‘Pep-Lite’ in some circles, Maresca was Pep Guardiola’s assistant during Man City’s Treble-winning season, which came after a stint in charge of their Elite Development Squad from 2020 to 2021.

It will no doubt be a game for the football purists and is likely to be dubbed master vs apprentice, something that Guardiola’s clashes with Mikel Arteta have also been labelled in recent times.

Key games to look out for on the opening weekend

16/08/2024 20:00 Manchester United v Fulham

17/08/2024 15:00 Arsenal v Wolverhampton

17/08/2024 15:00 Everton v Brighton

17/08/2024 12:30 Ipswich Town v Liverpool

17/08/2024 15:00 Newcastle United v Southampton

17/08/2024 15:00 Nottingham Forest v A.F.C. Bournemouth

17/08/2024 17:30 West Ham United v Aston Villa

18/08/2024 14:00 Brentford v Crystal Palace

18/08/2024 16:30 Chelsea v Manchester City

19/08/2024 20:00 Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur

It promises to be another enthralling Premier League season and that will start in just under two months time.

Manchester United will kick off the campaign for us, with Erik ten Hag’s second chance beginning with a home game against Fulham.

Newly-promoted Ipswich Town have a hugely exciting opening game at Portman Road against Liverpool, while Leicester hosts Tottenham and Southampton make the long trip to Newcastle.

But there is the no doubt the standout game will be Chelsea’s clash against Manchester City at 4:30PM on the Sunday afternoon.

YOUR CLUB-BY-CLUB GUIDE TO ALL THE PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Have a scroll through the article, click on the relevant club name, and you’ll find every match of their 2024-25 campaign.

Premier League 2024-25 fixtures revealed: Find out your team’s games

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And HERE THEY are

The fixtures are out!

And what an opening weekend line-up we have in store…

Under five minutes to go…

Who will your team get?

When I tried this fun little game, I ended up with Brighton vs Man United.

A tricky hunting ground for United down the years, although they did secure an impressive 2-0 win there on the final day last season, a result that no doubt helped Erik ten Hag to keep his job.

We’ll have the fixtures for you in TWO minutes.

Opening day clashes down the years

More opening day memories now and this slightly scrappy, but important goal from Marc Albrighton helped to start Leicester’s stunning 2015-16 campaign that saw them improbably win the Premier League.

Having survived by virtue of a Great Escape the previous season, the Foxes raced out of the blocks with a thumping 4-2 victory over Sunderland at the King Power Stadium.

Goals from Albrighton, Riyad Mahrez (two) and Jamie Vardy were enough on a scorching summer’s day.

Leicester are set to return to the promised land after winning the Championship title last season, although they are yet to appoint a replacement for Chelsea-bound Enzo Maresca.

15 MINUTE WARNING

Let us know in the comments who you want to see up first for your team…

A memorable opening weekend moment

Back in 1996, a certain David Beckham continued to announce himself as one of the stars of his generation in what was his second full campaign as a Man United first teamer.

Goals from Eric Cantona and Dennis Irwin had United ahead against Wimbledon, but it was Beckham who stole the show with this stunning strike…

Ominous signs for Chelsea’s opening weekend opponents

Best points-per-match record on the opening weekend, you’ll never sing that…

Not quite sure if that one will catch on but still an impressive stat from Chelsea and wouldn’t Enzo Maresca love to get his tenure off to the best possible start.

Dates to contend with – Don’t forget Chelsea!

While we’ve already covered the Champions League and Europa League fixtures for Premier League teams, we can’t ignore Chelsea who will be in the Europa Conference League for the first time next season.

Although they finished sixth in the top flight, Man United’s FA Cup triumph meant Enzo Maresca’s side were effectively relegated to Europe’s third tier club competition.

The dates for this tournament aren’t finalised yet, but the Blues are set to start in the play-off round stage, where victory over a two-legged tie would secure their spot in the league stage.

Those play-off fixtures will take place on 22 and 29 August, the week after the Premier League season begins.

Festive and winter schedule

Chelsea’s trip to Wolves last season led to the Premier League being widely criticised due to the fact it was the first Christmas Eve fixture in 28 years, causing a nightmare for travelling fans.

The top flight have confirmed no game will take place on that day this time around, while they have also promised that arrangements will be made to allow more rest time over three of the festive match rounds.

As a result, no club will play within 60 hours of another match.

Elsewhere, the mid-season winter break has also been removed from the calendar to allow a mid-August start date, which should ensure players receive a consecutive three-week summer break.

This is something that was recommended by medical and technical experts, who claim a longer period of complete rest in the summer is better for player welfare than a short break in the winter.

What else is on today?

We’re now under 45 minutes until the Premier League fixtures for the 2024-25 season are released.

But that’s not all the big football action that’s taking place today, with the group stage of Euro 2024 continuing to cause plenty of excitement and drama out in Germany.

This afternoon Group F gets underway as Turkey face tournament debutants Georgia at 5PM.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, one of the favourites for glory, then take on Czechia at 8PM and it promises to be another fascinating day of action.

New managers on the block

A new season brings new faces and new heroes to the Premier League and the 2024-25 campaign will be no different.

Along with Kieran McKenna of Ipswich and Southampton’s Russell Martin managing in the top flight for the first time, there has been plenty of movement in the dugout elsewhere.

Arne Slot will attempt to fill the huge Jurgen Klopp-shaped hole at Liverpool, while Enzo Maresca was prized away from Leicester by Chelsea, leaving the Foxes still searching for a new manager.

Elsewhere, former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui has replaced David Moyes at West Ham, while Brighton have appointed US-born German coach Fabian Hurzeler, who is just 31 and becomes the youngest ever full-time boss of a Premier League team.

That quartet will keeping a keen eye on the schedule this morning.

ONE HOUR AWAY

The excitement is only rising across the country as we prepare to find out the 2024-25 Premier League fixtures.

Joining Ipswich in getting promoted from the Championship are Southampton and Leicester, with the Saints going up through the play-offs after just one season away from the top flight.

They’ll be hoping for a better outcome than their last Premier League season in 2022-23, when they went through three managers and finished rock bottom with just 25 points, 11 adrift of safety.

How are the fixtures complied?

Whilst on a particularly bad day, a supporter might either assume names have been pulled out of a hat, or perhaps that data has a very specific vendetta against their club, there’s method to the madness.

Before preparing the schedule, the Premier League looks at a number of different variables, including security issues around clubs hosting matches in the same cities or any particular dates clubs don’t want to play at home.

Then there are rules to be followed: clubs can’t play more than two games at home on the trot, and they cannot play two matches away or at home to close off their campaign.

But as we all know, fixtures – particularly in the latter half of the season – can be subject to the odd reshuffle, as things sharpen up in Europe, broadcasting concerns are taken into consideration, as are any unprecedented turns of events.

The Premier League also insist that travel issues are taken into account, through minimising travel on Bank Holidays, while the top light are keen to avoid ‘pinch points’ on the rail and road network during gameweeks.

Dates to contend with – Europa League edition

As with those teams in the Champions League, fans of Manchester United and Tottenham will be keen to see which Premier League fixtures take place around their Europa League campaigns.

Like its sister competition, the Europa League will take the form of an expanded 36-team tournament next season, where each side faces eight games in the newly-named League stage.

As normal, they will run on a similar timetable to the Champions League, although the Europa League proper kicks off a week later.

Matchday 1: 25/26 September 2024
Matchday 2: 3 October 2024
Matchday 3: 24 October 2024
Matchday 4: 7 November 2024
Matchday 5: 28 November 2024
Matchday 6: 12 December 2024
Matchday 7: 23 January 2025
Matchday 8: 30 January 2025

Excitement at Portman Road

22 years after their last season in the Premier League, Ipswich Town are back after a stunning rise over the past two seasons which saw them earn back-to-back promotions.

If it was yet to sink in for the Tractor Boys that they are back in the big time, it sure will today when they find out their schedule for next season.

Boss Kieran McKenna was linked with jobs at Brighton, Chelsea and Man United but the Northern Irishman signed a new four-year deal last month in a major boost to the club.

Fixtures that could define the season

As ever, fans will be keen to know when they will be taking on their arch-rivals in derby clashes, but there are likely to be a few games which define the Premier League season.

It’s hard to look past Arsenal’s matches against Man City, with Mikel Arteta’s side pushing the reigning champions the closest over the past two seasons.

However, their encounters have generally been tight affairs with March’s showdown ending in a cagey 0-0 draw.

You can catch up with highlights from that game below…

Other key cup dates

Along with European action, there will also be the small matter of domestic cups to deal with for teams.

Premier League sides enter the Carabao Cup in either the second or third round, depending on whether or not they have European commitments, while they join the FA Cup from the third round onwards.

The exact schedule for the Carabao Cup is yet to be confirmed, although the EFL have confirmed it will start in mid August.

Last year’s second round ties took place on the w/c August 28 before the third round clashes were on the w/c September 25.

The FA Cup is simpler, with the third round scheduled over the weekend of January 11 and 12.

Dates to contend with – Champions League edition

Fans of Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa will be keen to see which fixtures take place around their Champions League campaigns this year.

We’re set to see a new, 36-team expanded Champions League format, with each competing team facing eight group stage clashes, as supposed to the usual six, although it will be known as the league stage this time around.

Those European matchdays start in September and run through until the end of January, from when the knockout stages commence.

Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024
Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025

Who’s on your FPL watchlist for the new campaign?

Although we are still two months away from kick off, a new season no doubt brings attention to a new year of hopes and expecations for FPL.

Could one team’s early fixtures encourage you to invest in certain assets from the start or might it put you off?

The likes of Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, and of course Erling Haaland were some of the biggest points scorers last time and fans will be expecting similar returns this time around.

The key dates

Time to get your diaries out and pencil in these important dates for the 2024-25 campaign.

Opening weekend – August 17, 2024

Final weekend – May 25, 2025

In total, there will be 33 weekends of actions, four midweek rounds and one Bank Holiday matchweek

How does it all work?

The Premier League fixtures for the 2024-25 season will be announced at 9AM this morning.

In the meantime, we’ll be bringing you all the build-up and then reaction to the announcement as fans from across the country can start to plan in earnest for a new campaign of hope, excitement and expectation.

With Euro 2024, the season doesn’t begin until August 17, slightly later than last season’s August 11 start, giving players an extra week of well-deserved rest.

Good Morning

It’s the day you’ve all been waiting for!

It might be slightly hidden among the festival of football that is Euro 2024, but today is the day the Premier League fixtures for the 2024-25 season are released.

The confetti on Man City’s fourth successive top flight title has barely been swept up but Pep Guardiola’s side – and the 19 other teams – will find out their fates and schedules for next season today!