The full fixture list for the Premier League’s 2021-22 season is out!
Schedule release day always sees supporters’ eyes zipping through the list of their club’s 38 fixtures to find key dates.
Who do we open with? When are our derbies? What do the Festive Fixtures look like?
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And then the neutrals are scanning for the big ones, chief among them these days Man City v Liverpool, the North London derbies, and the Merseyside derbies.
So what are the key dates from the Premier League’s 2021-22 season? Read on...
New boys host Premier League debuts
Okay, okay, so it doesn’t feel incredibly new for Watford or Norwich City to open new PL seasons at Vicarage Road and Carrow Road, respectively, but Brentford Community Stadium has been waiting a long time for a home Premier League fixture.
All three promoted sides are home to start the PL matchweek, as the Bees host fellow London side Arsenal in Week 1 while fellow promoted sides Norwich City (Liverpool) and Watford (Aston Villa) also have tricky home openers.
Fiercest “new” rivalry renewed in October title fight
Liverpool is the only club besides Manchester City to win the Premier League over the past four seasons, and they’ll get their first chance to directly affect the Citizens’ hopes of a fifth on October 2 at Anfield.
The return fixture comes April 9 at the Emirates Stadium.
Rivalries renewed early in season (like, really early)
Old rivals Manchester United and Leeds will also scrap on Opening Day, this one at Old Trafford, while whoever Tottenham Hotspur hires will have to mastermind a home match against PL champions Man City.
Arsenal and Chelsea tangle at the Emirates in Week 2 and won’t get relief the following matchday as Liverpool - Chelsea and Man City - Arsenal are next on the docket.
Crystal Palace and Brighton will stage the non-geographic M23 Derby on Sept. 25 at Selhurst Park.
Local derbies
We won’t put every London derby in this space -- there are six London sides in the PL and a few other clubs aren’t very far from the capital -- and there will still be a large number of big local rivalries on the 2021-22 PL docket.
Here are the first additions of both:
- Arsenal v Chelsea, Aug. 21
- Arsenal v Tottenham Sept. 25
- Manchester United v Manchester City, Nov. 6
- Everton v Liverpool, Nov. 30
Other big names on big dates
- Manchester United v Liverpool, Oct. 23
- Tottenham v Manchester United, Oct. 30
