Man Utd to battle rivals for winger as West Ham & Arsenal eye £44m forward with patchy Premier League pastplaceholder image
Man Utd to battle rivals for winger as West Ham & Arsenal eye £44m forward with patchy Premier League past | Getty Images
The Premier League fixtures are due to be released on Wednesday 18 June, when we will find out when the Manchester derby is.
Manchester United and Manchester City will be keen to find out when they will face each other next season as the Premier League fixtures are due to be released this week after disappointing seasons for both Manchester sides.
United will be keen to improve under Ruben Amorim considering that they had the worst Premier League finish in United’s club history, ending 15th on 42 points from 38 matches.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola will hope that his City side can come back and challenge for the Premier League title yet again, after finishing behind Liverpool and Arsenal this past season.
When is the Manchester derby and games against Liverpool?
Amorim and Guardiola will be looking forward to the fixture release to see when they will face each other in the Manchester derby next season. Last year, United were unbeaten against City, winning their meeting in December at the Etihad 2-1, and a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in April.
However, the Red Devils lost one of their games against rivals Liverpool, a 3-0 defeat in September when Erik Ten Hag was still the manager. In their second meeting in January, the two sides drew 2-2 at Anfield. Man City, meanwhile, lost both of their games against Liverpool 2-0 last season.
Other games to look out for in the fixture release will be City’s meetings with Arsenal, which always deliver entertainment and drama. Last season, the two sides drew 2-2 in September, and then Arsenal won 5-1 in February.
The fixture release will be announced on Wednesday at 9 am GMT, and teams will be watching carefully to see how they will be opening the season on Saturday, 16 August.
How does the Premier League decide the fixtures?
The fixture lists concern a lot of issues for the Premier League to contend with, including congestion, FA Cup games, European games and international breaks. Furthermore, the Premier League don’t want to allow teams several games at home or away in a row.
“For every date in the season, the fixture computer knows which clubs are at home and who are away and then it will mix them up randomly to determine the matches. In any five matches there should be a split of three home fixtures, two away or the other way around. A team will never have more than two home or away matches in a row, and, wherever possible, you will be home and away around FA Cup ties.
“A club will never start or finish the season with two home or two away matches because it would be unfair for a team to finish with two aways. Around the Christmas period, if you are at home on Boxing Day you will be away on New Year's Day or an equivalent date.
“We also try to maintain a Saturday home-away sequence throughout the season wherever possible. Most clubs will have a partner club with whom they cannot clash, such as Manchester United and Manchester City, or Liverpool and Everton. In London it gets a bit more complex and less obvious.”
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