After a three week break, the 2020/2021 English top-flight football competition, which arguably is the most popular league in Kenya, will get underway on September 21 with reigning champions Liverpool opening the defence of their title at home to newly promoted Leeds United.
Individual fixtures were announced on Thursday morning – see them all here – meaning teams can start making specific plans for the new campaign. Among the opening weekend games, defending champions Liverpool have a standout clash with newly-promoted Leeds United at Anfield.
However, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Wolves have been given extra time off by the Premier League having reached the knockout stages of European competition.
Chelsea and Wolves have been afforded a few days’ extra rest and will begin their campaigns on Monday September 14, while United and City – whose European exits came just four weeks before the start of the new Premier League season – will sit out the first round of matches completely and not start until the weekend of September 19.
The season is scheduled to finish on Sunday May 23, 2021 – just 19 days before the rescheduled Euro 2020 kicks off.
Liverpool face an intriguing start to their title defence. After that exciting opener with Leeds, their next fixtures are Chelsea away, Arsenal at home and Aston Villa away before a Merseyside derby with Everton at Goodison Park on October 17. Their first showdown with Manchester City comes on the weekend of November 7.
It’s a tough start for FA Cup holders Arsenal, too, with some testing away days early in the season. After a trip to Fulham on the opening weekend, their next away games are against Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Leeds and then north London rivals Tottenham on December 5.
Having both sat out the opening weekend, Man City and Manchester United will clash in Manchester derbies scheduled for the weekend of December 12 and March 6. United’s first meeting with fierce rivals Liverpool comes on January 16 at Anfield, with the return fixture at Old Trafford their fifth-from-last on May 1.
Chelsea will travel to Liverpool on the second weekend of the season and will play at Manchester United at the end of October following a second international break. Frank Lampard’s side have also been given a headline-grabbing fixture on Boxing Day with a trip to Arsenal, and will begin 2021 with a clash against Manchester City on January 2.
