The unique 2022/2023 Premier League season has seen the release of its first set of fixtures on Thursday.
The season will see the Premier League take a mid-season break, and the first that would also see the FIFA World Cup happening in the middle of the season.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be held in November/December of the year in contrast to the regular June to July schedule.
The Premier League will kick off on the 5th of August with Crystal Palace hosting Arsenal at Selhurst Park, then newly-promoted Fulham would welcome Liverpool to the Craven Cottage.
Aston Villa will travel to one of the newly-promoted Bournemouth while Leeds United will play Wolves.
Leicester City and Brentford will play each other. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest, who are making a return to the Premier League after a long break in the lower leagues, would travel to Newcastle United in their first game in the Premier League in over 20 years.
Tottenham Hotspur will face Southampton while champions Manchester City will have their first game against West Ham United on Sunday the 7th of August.
Meanwhile, Erik Ten Hag’s tenure as Manchester United coach would start with a home tie against Brighton and Hove Albion.
With FIFA requesting that players playing at the World Cup be released by the 14th of November, it means that the Premier League will have over six weeks of mid-season break and start a week earlier than usual.
The first round of fixtures in full:
Friday, the 5th of August
Crystal Palace v Arsenal (20:00 BST)
Saturday, the 6th of August
Fulham v Liverpool (12:30)
Bournemouth v Aston Villa (15:00)
Leeds United v Wolves (15:00)
Leicester City v Brentford (15:00)
Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest (15:00)
Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton (15:00)
Everton v Chelsea (17:30)
Sunday, the 7th of August
Manchester United v Brighton (14:00)
West Ham United v Manchester City (16:30)
Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu
