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The opening day of the 2021-22 Premier League season will see Manchester City begin their title defence away at Tottenham Hotspur on Aug. 14, the league announced on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola’s City will have to face Spurs, Arsenal, Leicester, Chelsea and Liverpool in their first seven games of the season.
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Runners-up Manchester United begin their season at Old Trafford against rivals Leeds United followed by a more favourable run against Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle, West Ham United, Aston Villa and Everton.
Following a poor defence of their 2019-20 Premier League title, Liverpool’s season starts with a trip to Norwich. They will face both Chelsea and City at Anfield in their opening seven games.
Jurgen Klopp’s sides toughest run, however, comes during the Christmas period with three away games at Spurs, Leicester and Chelsea as well as a game against Leeds at Anfield on Dec. 26.
Champions League winners Chelsea play Crystal Palace at home on Aug. 14 followed by a London derby with Arsenal. Alongside their early fixture with Liverpool, they also face Spurs away in the first six games.
Arsenal — who finished in eighth — must play Liverpool, City and north London rivals Spurs in the first month-and-a-half of the league.
The 2019-20 season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic which forced a halt to the competition for 100 days and the following season saw fans kept out of stadiums for much of it.
The attempt of six clubs to join the breakaway European Super League in April saw fans protest both outside and inside stadiums, with United fans breaking into Old Trafford to express their unhappiness with the club’s owners.
On the pitch, Guardiola’s side ran away with the title, wrapping up the league on May 11, finishing 12 points clear of rivals United.
While City also won the Carabao Cup, they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the Champions League final and Leicester City walked away with the FA Cup.