Arsenal to kick off 2022/23 season with London derby
Man City travel to West Ham, Everton to host Chelsea, Man United play Brighton at Old Trafford
The 2022/23 Premier League season kicks off in 50 days with a London derby for the second year in a row as Crystal Palace host Arsenal on Friday 5 August, while defending champions Manchester City have been handed another tough start to their title defence.
Arsenal opened 2021/22 with a short trip across the capital to promoted Brentford and were handed a 2-0 defeat, one of three consecutive losses they suffered to start the season.
Patrick Vieira’s Palace beat Arsenal 3-0 when they met at Selhurst Park in April, and have lost only once in their last eight encounters with the Gunners.
Man City must negotiate a challenging trip to West Ham United on Sunday August 7.
Opening-weekend matches in London hold mixed memories for Pep Guardiola. Tottenham Hotspur handed Man City a 1-0 defeat last season, while in 2019/20, Guardiola’s team crushed West Ham 5-0 at the London Stadium.
In their most recent meeting, on 15 May, West Ham gave Man City a big shock, going 2-0 up at half-time before the champions recovered to draw 2-2 and get their title bid back on track.
Guardiola will be hoping the addition of the prolific striker Erling Haaland will bring a more positive start.
It seems goals are guaranteed in the early kick-off on Saturday August 6 as Liverpool have been drawn against Fulham.
Jurgen Klopp will open a campaign against a promoted team for the fourth season running and their past three meetings against Watford, Leeds United and Norwich City respectively have averaged more than five goals.
This might be music to the ears of new Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez, who scored 26 goals in 28 matches for Benfica last season.
Nottingham Forest will end their 23-year exile from the Premier League with a trip to Newcastle United.
Forest have one of the best opening-weekend records in Premier League history but face a Magpies side who were resurgent under Eddie Howe in the second half of the season.
AFC Bournemouth, the other promoted team, will host Aston Villa in what is a repeat of the Cherries’ first Premier League fixture.
Everton’s home tie with Chelsea on Saturday, will bring happy memories for Toffees manager Frank Lampard. A 1-0 win in May at Goodison against the club where he is a legend helped Lampard to steer Everton out of the relegation zone.
Erik ten Hag starts life as Manchester United manager at Old Trafford against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday August 7.
