Ipswich host Liverpool on Premier League opening weekend

Ipswich are in the Premier League for the first time since the 2001-02 season

Newly promoted Ipswich will host Liverpool while champions Manchester City are away to Chelsea on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

Ipswich, who are back in the top flight after a 22-year absence, will play on Saturday, 17 August, with City starting their title defence at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, 18 August.

Manchester United's game against Fulham at Old Trafford will kick off the campaign on Friday, 16 August.

Arsenal, who finished runners-up to City last season, are at home to Wolves on the Saturday while fourth-placed Aston Villa have been handed an away game against West Ham on the same day.

Championship play-off winners Southampton face Newcastle at St James' Park, Everton host Brighton and Nottingham Forest take on Bournemouth to complete the Saturday fixtures.

Brentford welcome Crystal Palace on Sunday and Championship winners Leicester City will host Tottenham on Monday, 19 August.

Ipswich's last game in the Premier League was a 5-0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on the final day of the 2001-02 season. Their relegation came just a year after the club finished a surprise fifth in the top flight.

City won a record fourth consecutive English league title in May when they finished two points ahead of Arsenal.

Premier League opening-weekend fixtures in full

All times BST

Friday, 16 August

Manchester United v Fulham (20:00)

Saturday, 17 August

Ipswich Town v Liverpool (12:30)

Arsenal v Wolverhampton (15:00)

Everton v Brighton (15:00)

Newcastle United v Southampton (15:00)

Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth (15:00)

West Ham United v Aston Villa (17:30)

Sunday, 18 August

Brentford v Crystal Palace (14:00)

Chelsea v Manchester City (16:30)

Monday, 19 August

Leicester City v Tottenham (20:00)

Key things to look out for this season

By chief football news reporter Simon Stone

• Manchester City play two out of seven pre-Champions League matches at home (Aston Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool all play three)

• Villa have five out of seven post-Champions League games away

• Longest trip on 26 December is 200 miles – Aston Villa away to Newcastle

• Full round of fixtures on FA Cup final weekend – but no games on Saturday, 17 May, when the final is played

• Arsenal play at Tottenham and at Manchester City either side of matchday one in the Champions League

• Aston Villa are away to Tottenham and Liverpool either side of matchday three, while Liverpool play Chelsea at home and Arsenal away

• Manchester City travel to Tottenham and then face Liverpool away either side of matchday four

• Manchester United host Liverpool immediately before the September international break, Tottenham host Arsenal straight afterwards

• Everton's last-ever league match at Goodison Park - before they move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock - is scheduled to be against Southampton on Sunday, 18 May, the weekend of the FA Cup final

• Liverpool start their season with a 12:30 kick-off - former manager Jurgen Klopp called that slot "a crime"

When does the Premier League start?

The 2024-25 season starts on Friday, 16 August and will conclude on Sunday, 25 May 2025, when every game will kick off at the same time.

It will consist of 33 weekends, four midweek rounds and one Bank Holiday round, on 26 December. There is no separate round planned for 1 January.

The international breaks will take place in September, October, November and March, with the third round of the FA Cup moved to the second weekend of January instead of its traditional slot the weekend before.

To accommodate the mid-August start, there will be no winter break this campaign, while the Christmas Eve fixture - played last season for the first time since 1995 as Wolves faced Chelsea - will not be repeated.

The Premier League has assured clubs they will not be asked to play twice in less than 60 hours at any point over Christmas and New Year.

Liverpool 'have easiest start'

Opta has calculated the difficulty of every Premier League team's first five fixtures

Data from Opta has looked at the difficulty of every team's first five fixtures of the new season.

According to their 'Power Rankings' data, Brentford and West Ham have the joint-toughest start to the season, closely followed by Ipswich and Arsenal.

Brentford will take on three of the 'big six' in their start to the season, while West Ham's first three home games all come against sides that will be competing in Europe in the coming months. The Hammers don't leave London - with their first nine fixtures are at home or away to London-based teams - until 2 November, when they visit Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot and his side are judged to have the easiest start to the season, with four of their first five fixtures against sides who finished either in the bottom half of the table last season, or have been recently promoted.

Newcastle are said to have the second-easiest start to the season, with Tottenham being the only opponents in their first five fixtures who finished in the league's top half in May.

Man City 'have easiest run-in'

Opta has also calculated the difficulty of every Premier League team's final 10 games

Of all teams in the Premier League, Manchester City are set to have the easiest final 10 fixtures of the season, according to the same Opta calculations.

They will only face three teams that finished in the top half of last season's Premier League table - Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Aston Villa.

Fulham have the toughest end to the season, with six of their final 10 games coming against sides competing in Europe.