The fixture list for the 2020/21 Premier League season was published this morning and Fantasy Premier League looks set to kick off with a Blank Gameweek 1.
Manchester City and Manchester United will both start the season a week later following their exploits in European club competition.
Their scheduled opponents on the opening weekend, Aston Villa and Burnley, will also begin their campaigns in Gameweek 2.
Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers were in Champions League and Europa League action earlier this month but, although they have been handed a bit of an extra breather, their first fixtures still fall within Gameweek 1 and will take place on Monday 14 September.
Liverpool and Arsenal take on newly-promoted Leeds United and Fulham in two of the most eye-catching fixtures in the first round of 2020/21 matches, with Chelsea away at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Early-season interest in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£12.0m) may well be short-lived, with the Gunners facing Fulham and West Ham United before meeting four of last season’s top five and Sheffield United between Gameweeks 3-7.
Liverpool also have a mixed start, with the visit of Marcelo Bielsa’s side followed by clashes with Chelsea and Arsenal.
Manchester City get their season underway in Gameweek 2 with a trip to Wolves, with visits of Leicester City and Arsenal to follow in Gameweeks 3 and 5.
Their cross-city rivals meanwhile follow up their Blank Gameweek 1 with a more appealing fixture against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford, with matches against Brighton and Hove Albion, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United coming next.
Spurs have a decent start: they have six meetings against sides that finished 10th or below in their opening seven fixtures, with Championship runners-up West Bromwich Albion then up in Gameweek 8.
Wolves’ run of matches from Gameweeks 3-7 also stand out, while Chelsea will be quietly pleased with their initial schedule aside from a Gameweek 2 clash with Liverpool: the Blues take on Brighton, West Brom, Crystal Palace and Southampton in the opening five Gameweeks.
West Ham United may well be the team to avoid in the opening two months. After a favourable opening-weekend clash with Newcastle United, the Hammers then face six of last season’s top eight in quick succession.
We’ll be back later today with a more detailed inspection of the best and worst fixture schedules.
Our Season Ticker has been updated in the meantime, with Fantasy Football Scout subscribers able to sort by difficulty, attacking and defensive potential and rotation pairings.
Also check out Porstmouth Bubblejet’s fine work in identifying the clubs that rotate home and away fixtures in 2020/21.
