2022-23 Premier League Fixture Analysis

With the 2022-23 Premier League season just days away, here’s a look at the fixture schedule of all 20 clubs across the campaign.

From fresh signings to new managerial appointments, this summer has certainly seen plenty of drama across every team but it is now time to knuckle down as the season finally gets underway this weekend.

Ahead of the new campaign, I have taken an analytical look at opening and concluding six fixtures of every team in alphabetical order, plus single out any tricky periods awaiting each individual club across the next nine months.

Now here is my take on what to expect from each club throughout the season as some face slow starts whilst others could be in for strong early-season momentum.

 

Arsenal

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Crystal Palace	A	Manchester City	A
Leicester	H	Chelsea	H
Bournemouth	A	Newcastle	A
Fulham	H	Brighton	H
Aston Villa	H	Nottingham Forest	A
Manchester United	A	Wolves	H

Having suffered a late season slump at the end of their last campaign, Arsenal will be fairly happy with their opening six matches which are all winnable, especially at home against Leicester, Fulham and Aston Villa.

I however do wonder if Arsenal fans are getting that de ja vu feeling about their opening match as it is the third consecutive season that they commence their campaign with an away London derby, which is also the season opener coincidentally again.

A top-four finish should be the main objective and their run-in looks relatively easy on paper, but their games against Man City, Chelsea and Newcastle could well be crucial to where they finish the season because defeats in two of those three particular games could be costly.

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners on that note should realistically look to try and take three wins from their opening six matches to give them momentum, although they will have to also battle their way through the Thursday-Sunday routine once Europa League action kicks into gear.

 

Aston Villa

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Bournemouth	A	Fulham	H
Everton	H	Manchester United	A
Crystal Palace	A	Wolves	A
West Ham	H	Tottenham	H
Arsenal	A	Liverpool	A
Manchester City	H	Brighton	H

Having spent well so far in the transfer window ahead of Steven Gerrard’s first full season in charge at Villa Park, Aston Villa should be relatively optimistic because their first four matches are all winnable but Arsenal and Man City look difficult games to predict already.

Villa’s run-in however feels mixed with three ‘big six’ clubs on top of a West Midlands derby but Fulham and Brighton at home should be beatable.

I am not expecting a top-seven challenge from Villa this season but their toughest period does look to be upon their return from the World Cup break, where they play Liverpool, Tottenham and Wolves within seven days.

Now if Villa can negotiate that particular period well and pick up plenty of points against teams around them across the season, I can see a positive campaign of progress with a lower top-ten result a decent possibility come next May.

 

Bournemouth

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Aston Villa	H	Southampton	A
Manchester City	A	Leeds	H
Arsenal	H	Chelsea	H
Liverpool	A	Crystal Palace	A
Wolves	H	Manchester United	H
Nottingham Forest	A	Everton	A

Bournemouth fans will be feeling reborn looking at their opening fixture – having previously faced Villa on the opening day of their maiden Premier League season in 2015-16 of which they went on to avoid relegation.

City, Arsenal and Liverpool in three of their four opening matches however do all look difficult but Scott Parker’s Cherries should fancy their chances at home against Arsenal, which is their best hope of picking points aside from against Villa.

Once Bournemouth get those big guns out of the way, Wolves at home and Forest away could well be decent chances of snatching some rebound points to put their season back on track, which does look fairly solid between September and the international break fixture wise.

The Cherries’ run-in meanwhile looks slightly stronger because their last six matches home and away do look winnable, especially if Chelsea and Man Utd are in semi-final action in European competitions at that stage of the season.

Everton away on the final day of the season however might ring alarm bells given what happened on the final day of 2019-20 season, in which Bournemouth clinched a 3-1 win but were relegated due to results elsewhere going against their favour.

Either way, the opening and final six matches respectively aren’t as smooth as Bournemouth might of liked, yet they could give themselves a good chance at survival if can enjoy a solid season overall.

 

Brentford

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Leicester	A	Chelsea	A
Manchester United	H	Nottingham Forest	H
Fulham	A	Liverpool	A
Everton	H	West Ham	H
Crystal Palace	A	Tottenham	A
Leeds	H	Manchester City	H

Following a solid debut season in the Premier League, Thomas Frank’s Bees will be looking to avoid a second season rut but they do have a fairly tricky start, because Leicester and Man Utd won’t be easy and Fulham is a local derby clash which won’t be much easier.

Brentford fans might therefore need patience because I can’t see their season totally kick-starting until a run of Everton, Crystal Palace and Leeds between late August – early September, which will be their best hopes of getting points on the board before the international break.

Their festive return however looks particularly crucial with London derbies against Tottenham and West Ham and a home clash against Liverpool within seven days, which could be important if they are to achieve another mid-table finish at minimum.

Brentford’s run-in though does look quite harsh with only Nottingham Forest and possibly West Ham at home looking winnable, which will place further emphasis on the Bees to perform well against teams around them if they’re to avoid relegation.

 

Brighton & Hove Albion

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Manchester United	A	Nottingham Forest	A
Newcastle	H	Wolves	H
West Ham	A	Everton	H
Leeds	H	Arsenal	A
Fulham	A	Southampton	H
Leicester	H	Aston Villa	A

An away trip to Man Utd who are playing their first match under Erik Ten Haag on the opening weekend looks tough, yet Brighton might be relieved to get it out of the way early because the rest of their opening six matches all look winnable if they play their best football consistently.

Following their ninth-placed finish last season, it is tricky to predict what we can expect from Brighton this season but they should look for a high mid-table finish at minimum, especially given how solid the majority of their opening and closing matches look on paper at present.

October though does look an incredibly difficult month in which they play four of the ‘big six’ clubs plus Brentford and Forest, so a return points haul of five points at minimum should be viewed as a positive result as the Seagulls look to again avoid a relegation fight.

 

Chelsea

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Everton	A	Brentford	H
Tottenham	H	Arsenal	A
Leeds	A	Bournemouth	A
Leicester	H	Nottingham Forest	H
Southampton	A	Manchester City	A
West Ham	H	Newcastle	H

It is hard to wonder what Thomas Tuchel will make of this start under Chelsea’s new ownership because their opening four matches do look quite tricky, whilst Southampton and West Ham could also prove to be thorns in their bush if playing their best football on the day.

Their closing fixtures also do look fairly tricky because whilst they should beat Bournemouth, Forest and Newcastle comfortably if not in cup action at that stage of the season, Brentford could be a sticky game as was the case last season as will trips to Arsenal and Man City.

I however do expect Chelsea to still be right up there fighting for the top four at minimum but their toughest run does seem to be in late April, with Man Utd, Brentford and Arsenal within seven days which could be key to how their season finishes.

 

Crystal Palace

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Arsenal	H	Wolves	A
Liverpool	A	West Ham	H
Aston Villa	H	Tottenham	A
Manchester City	A	Bournemouth	H
Brentford	H	Fulham	A
Newcastle	A	Nottingham Forest	H

Patrick Vieira certainly wouldn’t of wished for this start to his second season at Palace because only Villa look beatable in their opening four matches on paper, yet they have done quite well in recent seasons against Arsenal and Man City so points in those games shouldn’t be ruled out.

I though do not expect Palace’s season to ignite until late August when they face Brentford then Newcastle but on the other hand, their run-in from early April onwards does look more winnable with only Tottenham looking their toughest fixture in their last ten matches.

Looking at their season as a whole though, Palace certainly should be looking for another mid-table finish once they have cleared that brutal start to the campaign.

 

Everton

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Chelsea	H	Newcastle	H
Aston Villa	A	Leicester	A
Nottingham Forest	H	Brighton	A
Brentford	A	Manchester City	H
Leeds	A	Wolves	A
Liverpool	H	Bournemouth	H

Having stuttered their way towards survival at the conclusion of last season, Everton should be fairly happy with their start because they know how to beat Chelsea at home and their first five fixtures overall do look largely winnable ahead of the Merseyside derby.

Frank Lampard though should feel more relieved at the run-in schedule because only Man City look a sticking point, yet that game is at home which could give them a morale boost if needed although I do anticipate a more solid season than supporters saw last campaign.

In fact if we were to break Everton’s league schedule down to a month by month basis, they do have a relatively solid schedule with September looking their toughest, in which they host Liverpool and West Ham either side of a trip to Arsenal.

As I already said, Everton should be happy with their opening matches and their run-in but they overall do have a fairly solid schedule, where winning matches against teams around them could be crucial to chasing a top-ten finish.

 

Fulham

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Liverpool	H	Aston Villa	A
Wolves	A	Manchester City	H
Brentford	H	Leicester	H
Arsenal	A	Southampton	A
Brighton	H	Crystal Palace	H
Tottenham	A	Manchester United	A

Having dominated the Championship last season but lost Fabio Carvalho to Liverpool this summer on a free transfer, Fulham will be relishing their opening weekend clash against the Reds at home despite it looking tricky on paper.

Once that game is out of the way, Fulham really need to try and get at least one win against Wolves, Brentford or Brighton because I don’t see them beating Arsenal or Tottenham away from home, otherwise they could be in early trouble.

Fast forward to Spring and their run-in looks fairly similar with tricky encounters against both Manchester clubs and Leicester, which could mean a season of struggle if the Cottagers fail to build early momentum and beat teams likely to be around them in the table.

On that note, October does already look crucial on paper with the Cottagers not facing a genuine top team during that month, meaning that they really need to look to that month as an opportunity to pick up valuable points otherwise this could be a rough season.

 

Leeds United

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Wolves	H	Leicester	H
Southampton	A	Bournemouth	A
Chelsea	H	Manchester City	A
Brighton	A	Newcastle	H
Everton	H	West Ham	A
Brentford	A	Tottenham	H

Having escaped relegation on the final day of last season, Leeds need to take full advantage of their fairly kind start against teams likely to be around them in the table, with only Chelsea looking tricky but that game is at home which offers them hope.

In fact, Leeds really could do with maximising their first half of the season because there are a lot of winnable games nicely spread out amongst the tougher fixtures, because their run-in after the international break in March 2023 looks quite hard if their rivals are in need of wins.

Raphinha’s departure though will be a loss which makes maximising their easier fixtures more imperative for Leeds, if they’re to avoid another relegation battle.

 

Leicester City

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Brentford	H	Leeds	A
Arsenal	A	Everton	H
Southampton	H	Fulham	A
Chelsea	A	Liverpool	H
Manchester United	H	Newcastle	A
Brighton	A	West Ham	H

Following an injury-hit campaign last season, Leicester will be pretty pleased with their opening six fixtures because they should believe that seven points at minimum should be a possibility, although their games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd could be key to their targets for this season.

Mid-season though should offer Leicester real belief of mounting a top-seven challenge because across seven fixtures between November – January, only Liverpool represent their toughest opposition on paper so it could represent a huge chance to boost their European qualification hopes.

Should that be the case then Brendan Rogers’ Foxes can believe that a top-seven finish should be a real possibility, given how solid their run-in looks with only Liverpool looking their last difficult test of the season.

 

Liverpool

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Fulham	A	West Ham	A
Crystal Palace	H	Tottenham	H
Manchester United	A	Brentford	H
Bournemouth	H	Leicester	A
Newcastle	H	Aston Villa	H
Everton	A	Southampton	A

Having missed out on the title by a single point last season, Liverpool have invested well in their squad despite Sadio Mane’s departure as manager – Jurgen Klopp will be happy with their starting run of fixtures.

A minimum of 10 points is therefore surely a serious target from their opening six matches because only Man Utd look troublesome, whilst their home games on paper should be fairly easy wins based on recent home form against Palace, Bournemouth and Newcastle.

The Reds’ run-in looks just as solid with only West Ham and Tottenham looking like their hardest tests, which will add extra belief if they’re in the title race again although April looks their trickiest month overall against Man City, Arsenal, Leeds, Forest, West Ham and Tottenham.

On that note, Liverpool’s title challenge could be made or broken during that month because those six teams do look pretty tough, although Forest at home is the most winnable but they realistically need to just lose one of those games at maximum for the sake of their title hopes.

 

Manchester City

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
West Ham	A	Arsenal	H
Bournemouth	H	Fulham	A
Newcastle	A	Leeds	H
Crystal Palace	H	Everton	A
Nottingham Forest	H	Chelsea	H
Aston Villa	A	Brentford	A

As reigning champions, Man City should be relatively pleased with their opening six fixtures because they’re all winnable, with only West Ham at the London Stadium on the opening weekend looking their hardest fixture.

Another positive in City’s favour is that their clashes against fellow ‘big six’ clubs are fairly spread out unlike Liverpool, which could well work to their advantage in the title race run-in although a home clash against Chelsea on the penultimate weekend looks key to their title ambitions.

Now if specifically compare Liverpool and City’s run-ins in the title race, my money would be on City because Liverpool has a brutal April, whereas City can afford to relax with only Arsenal and Chelsea looking their hardest tests after meeting Liverpool on the weekend of 1-3 April.

 

Manchester United

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Brighton	H	Tottenham	A
Brentford	A	Aston Villa	H
Liverpool	H	West Ham	A
Southampton	A	Wolves	H
Leicester	A	Bournemouth	A
Arsenal	H	Fulham	H

As Utd begin a new era under Erik ten Hag, they should be pretty pleased with their opening two matches which they should look to win, although away games at Southampton and Leicester in-between home clashes against Liverpool and Arsenal will provide a stern test.

If Utd do pass that first tricky test under Ten Hag’s era, they could certainly look to try and sit on the fringes of the title race in hope that other teams slip up, although a few of their ‘big six’ clashes later this season are paired in consecutive matchweeks which could be crucial to top four hopes.

Their run-in however looks fairly simply once they get Chelsea and Tottenham out of the way in late April, with a return of at least eight points at minimum from their last five games looking achievable if they avoid another season of woe.

 

Newcastle United

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Nottingham Forest	H	Everton	A
Brighton	A	Southampton	H
Manchester City	H	Arsenal	H
Wolves	A	Leeds	A
Liverpool	A	Leicester	H
Crystal Palace	H	Chelsea	A

Newcastle enter this season off the back of a strong second-half of last season yet their opening six matches feel like a mixed match given their poor form against Brighton, Man City and Liverpool, whilst Forest at home on the opening weekend should be intriguing.

As for their clashes against Wolves and Palace, well anything could happen given that those teams have similar quality to that of Newcastle which makes working out what to expect from the Magpies in those six opening games quite tricky.

I however do believe that Newcastle have the quality to avoid a relegation scrap come end of season if continue to invest well and carefully in new signings, which will help with more winnable games in their run-in even if their final day trip to Chelsea looks a write off on paper.

 

Nottingham Forest

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Newcastle	A	Brighton	H
West Ham	H	Brentford	A
Everton	A	Southampton	H
Tottenham	H	Chelsea	A
Manchester City	A	Arsenal	H
Bournemouth	H	Crystal Palace	A

As Forest prepare for their first top-flight season since 1998-99 campaign, Steve Cooper will be happy with their start with three tough but winnable matches, although I don’t see them then beating Tottenham and Man City before hosting Bournemouth in a key early encounter between promoted teams.

Forest though have invested well this summer and have the luck of having their games against ‘big six’ opposition nicely spread out largely in pairs, yet it will be winning games against likely midfield and relegation rivals that will be key to survival.

Should Forest do enough to establish themselves in midfield by late April, they can relax about their run-in which contains two tricky ties against Chelsea and Arsenal, although those fixtures could become significant if fighting for survival due to falling as their two penultimate matches of season.

Cooper though should be fairly happy with the overall fixture list despite facing three consecutive Midlands derbies in October, plus a tough return from a mid-season break as Forest face Man Utd and Chelsea across Xmas and New Year.

 

Southampton

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Tottenham	A	Bournemouth	H
Leeds	H	Newcastle	A
Leicester	A	Nottingham Forest	A
Manchester United	H	Fulham	H
Chelsea	H	Brighton	A
Wolves	A	Liverpool	H

Having stuttered to a 15th placed finish last season and claimed just one point in their last six competitive matches, Southampton certainly would of hoped for a better start than an opening clash away at Tottenham.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints also face away trips to Leicester and Wolves in their first six matches which will provide key tests, if they’re to get early points on the board whilst their home clash against Leeds will be just as crucial as I don’t see them beating Man Utd nor Chelsea at home.

As for how their season plans out, I can see Southampton having a similar season to Forest where wins over those around them in the table will be crucial to survival, with their toughest run of fixtures coming in late March against Man Utd and Tottenham.

Should the Saints however be dragged into a relegation fight which goes to the final day, they’re going to need a huge performance to beat Liverpool if want to stay up, especially if the Reds also need a win for the title.

This season is therefore going to be about consolidating results against their rivals and trying to pick up the odd result against ‘big six’ clubs.

 

Tottenham Hotspur

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Southampton	H	Manchester United	H
Chelsea	A	Liverpool	A
Wolves	H	Crystal Palace	H
Nottingham Forest	A	Aston Villa	A
West Ham	A	Brentford	H
Fulham	H	Leeds	A

Following a summer of investment and outgoings, Tottenham will be fairly happy with their start because five of their opening six matches look fairly winnable, except for Chelsea which should be a difficult game against a team who will want to win their first home game in the Todd Boehly era.

Should Spurs however get a draw at minimum from Stamford Bridge, I expect them to be right in the title mix in the opening weeks although Tottenham can be unpredictable at times.

A top-four finish though has to be the minimum overall target with tricky matches against Man Utd and Liverpool kicking off their run-in, where at least one point should stand them in good stead given that their last four matches are all winnable on paper.

January meanwhile see Spurs face three London derbies against; Crystal Palace (A), Arsenal (H) and Fulham (A), which probably represents their hardest month overall of the season given that form often can go out of the window in local derbies.

Either way, Antonio Conte will be happy with Spurs’ overall schedule because there are plenty of variation in difficulty of fixtures ideally spread out, which will provide additional belief.

 

West Ham

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Manchester City	H	Liverpool	H
Nottingham Forest	A	Crystal Palace	A
Brighton	H	Manchester United	H
Aston Villa	A	Brentford	A
Tottenham	H	Leeds	H
Chelsea	A	Leicester	A

Following a strong campaign last season and fresh investment this summer, West Ham certainly should be targeting another top-ten challenge yet their opening fixtures are pretty tough.

Unless the Hammers hit the ground running with quality performances, I don’t see them getting points against Man City, Tottenham nor Chelsea, whilst Brighton will be a hard game given their Premier League hoodoo against the Seagulls.

That leaves away trips to Forest and Villa as absolute must-wins if West Ham aren’t to endure a disappointing start to their season, which could leave them on the back-foot throughout the season especially with a fairly hard run-in at end of season.

Should West Ham however find themselves scrapping for an European spot at end of season, their final-day trip to Leicester could be crucial especially if the Foxes also need a win to secure European qualification.

In summary, West Ham simply need to start the season well otherwise they could be looking at a mid-table finish and need to win Europa Conference League, if they’re to qualify for Europe next season.

 

Wolves

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Leeds	A	Crystal Palace	H
Fulham	H	Brighton	A
Tottenham	A	Aston Villa	H
Newcastle	H	Manchester United	A
Bournemouth	A	Everton	H
Southampton	H	Arsenal	A

Having scraped a top-ten finish in Bruno Lage’s first season in charge at Molineux, Wolves now will surely be looking to kick on and chase European qualification again.

Lage therefore should be thrilled with Wolves’ opening six matches because aside from a trip to Tottenham in matchweek three, their early run looks very favourable if he can keep key players fit and hit the ground running with early momentum.

Should Lage manage that then a return of seven points at minimum should be achievable especially with their clashes against ‘big six’ opposition nicely spread out – except for Man City and Liverpool in consecutive matchweeks in September and late January-early February.

Man Utd and Arsenal in two of their final three matches of the season though do look tricky and ultimately crucial, if Wolves are chasing points to secure a place in Europe next season which could well define their final position but a relegation battle certainly looks unlikely at Molineux.