Manchester United will be part of raising the curtain, twice, on the next season on English football. Having won the FA Cup, in a Manchester Derby on the final weekend in May, they will rematch Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champions, in the Community Shield on August 10.
In addition to the traditional curtain raiser, United are also hosting the very first game of the Premier League season.
Man Utd will welcome Fulham FC to Old Trafford in the only game on Friday of the Premier League opening weekend. There will also be six fixtures on Saturday, two on Sunday, and then one edition of Monday Night Football, where Tottenham Hotspur travels to Leicester City.
The full slate is listed out below, in local (and metric) time.
Premier League Opening Weekend Fixture List
Aug. 16 20:00 Manchester United vs. Fulham FC
Aug. 17 12:30 Ipswich Town vs. Liverpool FC
Aug. 17 15:00 Arsenal FC vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Aug. 17 15:00 Everton FC vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Aug. 17 15:00 Newcastle United vs. Southampton FC
Aug. 17 15:00 Nottingham Forest vs. AFC Bournemouth
Aug. 17 17:30 West Ham United vs. Aston Villa
Aug. 18 14:00 Brentford FC vs. Crystal Palace
Aug. 18 16:30 Chelsea FC vs. Man City
Aug. 19 20:00 Leicester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.