Premier League 2023-24 fixtures released: Which team has the most difficult start to the new campaign?

Champions Manchester City to enjoy easy start to the new campaign

The Premier League 2023-24 fixtures were released today, and the schedule for the opening weeks of the season makes for some interesting reading.

The new season will begin on Friday night August 11, 2023 at Turf Moor. Nine months later, the Premier League campaign will conclude on May 19, 2024.

Manchester City go into the new campaign as the reigning Premier League winners. The Sky Blues also took home the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League trophy to seal an incredible treble.

City won the last three Premier League titles. Pep Guardiola and company are aiming to be the first club to win four consecutive Premier League trophies.

Manchester City will start the new campaign against newly-promoted club Burnley. The Clarets are managed by former Manchester City star Vincent Kompany - who some insiders feel will be the next manager at the Etihad Stadium once Guardiola departs.

Burnley will host Manchester City on opening night in a Friday night clash at Turf Moor. Manchester City will then face Newcastle United at home before visiting another newly-promoted team, Sheffield United for round 3. Manchester City will then begin September against Fulham. The Cottagers ended last season in 10th place.

Who has the most difficult start?

Three clubs - Newcastle, Bournemouth, and Manchester United - all face difficult starts to the new season. Newcastle will begin the campaign with Aston Villa (H), Manchester City (A), Liverpool (H), Brighton (A), and Brentford (H).

Erik ten Hag’s United will meet Wolves (H), Tottenham (A), Forest (H), Arsenal (A), and Brighton (H). Meanwhile, Bournemouth got West Ham (H), Liverpool (A), Tottenham (H), Brentford (A), and Chelsea (H) to begin the campaign.

Which team could stumble in the opening weeks?

Liverpool are coming off a shocking 2022-23 season, finishing fifth in the Premier League just one season after missing out on the title by one point.

Jurgen Klopp’s team has a tricky start to the new season, with Chelsea (A), Bournemouth (H), Newcastle (A), Villa (H), and Wolves (A) in the opening five rounds of the competition.

It isn’t a great run of fixtures for Klopp and Liverpool could be out of the title race before the Premier League season gets into full gear.

What do the Premier League 2022-23 fixtures tell us?

Firstly, the opening five rounds of fixtures show us more than ever, there are no easy matches in the Premier League. With the influx of money over the last 10 years, any team can take points off their rivals.

The NFL uses the phrase, “any given Sunday” to express that anything can happen from week to week. The same phrase can be employed to describe the 2022-23 Premier League season.

Unfortunately, for some teams, the consistency of Man City could see them become the first team to win the competition in four consecutive seasons. The rest of the league could simply beat up each other. The increase in money teams can spend has provided some parity to the league, which didn’t exist 20 years ago.

Secondly, the opening five rounds of fixtures tell us that a “big” team could start the campaign poorly only to right the ship as the campaign unfolds.

Should Newcastle United be worried about their opening fixtures?

Potentially, Newcastle should be worried about the opening five games. The Magpies finished fourth last season with 71 points, four more than fifth-place Liverpool.

Eddie Howe will now enter unchartered waters, the Champions League, and will likely draw a difficult group of opponents. He will need to balance the Premier League and Champions League in the early stages of the campaign.

Champions League matchday 1 will kick off on September 19/20. Newcastle will have faced off with their opening five opponents (Aston Villa (H), Manchester City (A), Liverpool (H), Brighton (A), and Brentford (H)) by then.

Newcastle drew the joint-most games in the league last season with 14. At times, they struggled to turn draws into wins. Of course, a point is a point. But in those tight matches, goalscoring wasn’t always forthcoming. Newcastle scored 68 total league goals. Callum Wilson scored 18 of those goals. Miguel Almiron and Alexander Isak also hit double digits in goals.

According to Understat, Newcastle had an xG of 76.98. The Magpies will need a strong start if they want to finish in the top four once more. Otherwise, Newcastle could take a step backwards.