Reuters Soccer Blog
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First round of the title battle: United v Arsenal, Aug 29
The new Premier League season kicks off on August 15 and the first real eye-catching fixture is at Old Trafford a fortnight later when Arsenal visit champions Manchester United for the first twist in the title race.
United manager Alex Ferguson will clash with new Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge on November 7, two weeks after visiting rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
After the all-important Christmas period, the pick of the reverse fixtures see United visiting Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on January 30 and then hosting last season’s Premier League runners-up Liverpool on March 20.
United’s last match against one of the other members of the leading quartet comes when Chelsea visit Old Trafford* on April 3.
Here’s a simple way to stop fixture fuming
Somebody must have bought Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger a calculator each for Christmas because both managers have done their sums and criticised the Premier League’s fixture programme.
After the United boss wondered aloud if the league was handicapping his club through their fixture list, his Arsenal counterpart crunched the numbers over the weekend
