The Premier League fixture list for 2015/16 was published this morning at 9am, allowing Fantasy managers an opportunity to start tentatively planning for the season ahead. Behind the scenes, we’ll be working on our fixture tickers throughout the day and aim to get these to you as soon as possible to offer a means of analysis of the opening six Gameweeks and, if you’re a member, the entire season.
Champions Chelsea open their campaign with a home encounter against Swansea before heading to the Etihad in Gameweek 2. Jose Mourinho’s men also square up to Arsenal in the opening six rounds of fixtures, and face trips to West Brom and Everton, in addition to a Stamford Bridge showdown with London neighbours Palace.
Man United take on three of last season’s top six in the first six rounds of fixtures. Louis van Gaal’s side welcome Tottenham and Liverpool to Old Trafford over that period and also pay visit to Southampton, with clashes against Villa, Newcastle and Swansea also on their agenda.
Man City hit the road three times in the first five. Manuel Pellegrini’s men roll up to West Brom, Everton and Palace, and welcome Watford, in addition to the above-mentioned home encounter with Chelsea.
Arsenal entertain West Ham, Liverpool and Stoke at the Emirates in the first six Gameweeks. Arsene Wenger’s men have a couple of London away days – at Palace and Chelsea – as well as a trip to Newcastle over that period.
Liverpool are handed four strong home clashes in the opening seven, as Bournemouth, West Ham, Norwich and Villa make their way to Anfield. Brendan Rodgers’ men have some testing times on the road, though, with visits to Stoke, Arsenal and United pencilled in over that time frame.
Leicester will be confident of continuing the form that clinched their survival last time out. Nigel Pearson’s troops face Sunderland, West Ham, Bournemouth, Villa and Stoke in the first six, with a Gameweek 3 trip to Tottenham looking the most problematic of their early matches.
West Ham begin life under new manager Slaven Bilic with an opening day trip to the Emirates. The Hammers also pay visit to Liverpool and City in the first six rounds of fixtures, though have four kind home clashes in the first seven (LEI, BOU, NEW, NOR) to bolster their appeal.
Crystal Palace are handed a tough start to the new campaign. Granted, the Eagles have Norwich and Villa in their opening three but aside from that, they go up against Arsenal, Chelsea, City and Spurs in the first six Gameweeks.
Over the next few days, we plan to focus on the new schedule in detail. In addition to a couple of “Frisking the Fixtures” articles, we’ll be rolling out a series of articles looking at the best rotation pairs available at the back over the upcoming campaign.
