Sports

PL Opening Weekend Fixtures: Chelsea vs. Manchester City Headline Week 1

"As defending champions, Man City have lost away to Tottenham and beat West Ham and Burnley in the last three seasons. This time, they start their defence away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge"

Samuel AkpanJune 18, 2024756

English football fans will take a moment to shift their focus from Euro 2024 to the confirmed 2024/25 Premier League fixture list, which features Manchester City vs. Chelsea as the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

Manchester United’s game against Fulham at Old Trafford will kick off the campaign on Friday, August 16.

Persecondnews reports that for an unprecedented fourth season in a row, Pep Guardoila’s City will begin the season as defending champions, having won the Premier League on the final day of 2023/24.

In doing so, they became the first men’s team in English football history to win the top-flight title four years in a row.

As defending champions, Man City have lost away to Tottenham and beat West Ham and Burnley in the last three seasons. This time, they start their defense away from Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Enzo Maresca will now lead the Blues, who have won 20 and drawn seven of their previous 32 Premier League season openers.

The 2024/25 Premier League campaign gets underway just five weeks after the end of Euro 2024, with the action kicking off on Friday, August 16.

The opening weekend now spans four days, as it has for the past few years, with TV spots for that week already confirmed.

The season will close on Sunday, May 25, 2025, with all games kicking off at the same time.

It will consist of 33 weekends, four midweek rounds, and one bank holiday round on December 26. There is no separate round planned for January 1.

The international breaks will take place in September, October, November, and March, with the third round of the FA Cup moved to the second weekend of January instead of its traditional slot the weekend before.

Full Premier League opening-weekend fixtures:

Friday, 16 August

Manchester United vs. Fulham (20:00)

Saturday, 17 August

Ipswich Town vs. Liverpool (12:30)

Arsenal vs. Wolverhampton (15:00)

Everton vs. Brighton (15:00)

Newcastle United vs. Southampton (15:00)

Nottingham Forest vs. Bournemouth (15:00)

West Ham United vs. Aston Villa (17:30)

Sunday, 18 August

Brentford vs. Crystal Palace (14:00)