Manchester City and Liverpool will come straight out of Champions League midweek action into the fire of a Premier League showdown in October.
After battling to the final day of the 2021-22 campaign in a title tussle that City edged, few would be surprised to see Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp s teams again battling it out for supremacy.
Chelsea, no longer owned by Roman Abramovich, will look to stake a claim, while Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal will hope to improve on last season s efforts.
A host of early season games catch the eye, perhaps none more than the Old Trafford clash between Manchester United and Liverpool on August 20.
Liverpool twice outclassed United last season, but it could be a different story now Erik ten Hag has moved into the Red Devils top job. The former Ajax head coach would make a major early statement if his team can deliver on that day
Here, Stats Perform looks at key games in the new season, after the fixtures were released on Thursday.
Chelsea v Tottenham August 13
After a tricky opener at Everton, Chelsea face Tottenham in their first Stamford Bridge game of the campaign. It will mean Antonio Conte again returning to the club where he was a Premier League and FA Cup winner, looking to give Spurs an early season lift.
Chelsea will be a team to keep close tabs on in the post-Abramovich era, and last season s third-placed finishers will have an early examination of their credentials against the side who snatched fourth in May. These two are likely to be battling to finish as London s top team again, but could either finish any higher than third in the table this time around?
London calling!
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
Newcastle United v Manchester City August 20
Are Newcastle United going to pose any threat to the top six? This fixture might give us an indication.
Eddie Howe s side will have home advantage against the champions, and the Saudi-backed Magpies, thrashed 5-0 and 4-0 by City last season, must show greater defiance this time around.
Manchester United v Liverpool August 20
Games against Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford will mark Erik ten Hag s introduction to the Premier League. Going on last season s evidence, there is no guarantee United will breeze through those assignments, but they will hope to have banked six points by the time they encounter Liverpool, their fiercest rivals.
Jurgen Klopp s side walloped United 5-0 and 4-0 in the 2021-22 campaign, underlining the gulf in class between the two squads, and Ten Hag surely cannot afford such a similar morale-draining outcome this time.
Everton v Liverpool September 3
Derby day. Will Frank Lampard s Everton kick on after the relief of avoiding relegation last term, or can Klopp s Reds follow last season s league double with another win at Goodison Park?
Anything other than a Liverpool victory would be a major surprise, of course, as Lampard battles to make his mark on Merseyside.
Merseyside derby dates
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
Manchester City v Tottenham September 10
Sandwiched between the first two rounds of Champions League group games, this cheeky little number is one to watch. Tottenham did the league double over City last season, inflicting two of their three defeats in the competition.
Pep Guardiola will know what damage the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski can inflict, but can he stop those lethal Spurs counter-attacks this time?
Derby double: Arsenal v Tottenham, Manchester City v Manchester United October 1
This promises to be quite some weekend, with north London and Manchester bragging rights up for grabs. Tottenham s 3-0 win over Arsenal in May paved the way for Spurs to pip their neighbours to a place in the Champions League, which left the Gunners hurting. In the north west, United barely threatened a top-four finish last term, and it is hard to see how Ten Hag mounts any sort of challenge to City s supremacy in the new campaign.
There was a 35-point gap between the sides at the end of the season, and it is essential that United at least get much closer. Games such as these can be catalysts for change, or they can be an opportunity for a side such as City to show their teeth and inflict more damage. Both return games are scheduled for January 14.
