Manchester City start defence of title against Arsenal

Manchester City will kick of the defence of their Premier League title next season with an away fixture against Arsenal.

On the day that the World Cup begins, attention diverted away from the international tournament for a brief moment, as English football fans start to plan their away trips and look at the clashes with their club rivals after the fixtures were released this morning.

The season is scheduled to get start on the weekend of 11 and 12 August and will conclude on Sunday May 12, 2019, with City hopefully replicating their success under Pep Guardiola.

The games against Manchester United will first be staged at the Etihad Stadium on 10 November, while the game across the city at Old Trafford will be featured on 16 March.

The two games were significant in the title winning season as City opened up their dominance and points lead away in December, with Nicolas Otamendi and David Silva goals proving enough in a 2-1 win. The game was more remembered for the unrest in the tunnel afterwards, with Ederson and a number of players clashing with Jose Mourinho and a number of players.

The reverse fixture could had seen City win the title against their rivals, however a second half resurgence from United saw City lose 3-2 with a Paul Pogba double and Chris Smalling goal overshadowing the first half performance.

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Football fans always look to see the fixtures over the Christmas and New Year period, with a home game against Crystal Palace (22) followed by away fixtures to Leicester City (26) and Southampton (29). Pep’s team will finish the festive period with a home game on 1 January against Liverpool.

All dates are provisional and subject to TV requirements.

City look to experience a tough month in October with away trips to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur and a home game against Burnley. Those games are in between two Champions League fixtures and an international break.

After reviewing the fixture list, one thing is obvious is that Manchester City will be hosting 19 Premier Leagues teams at the Etihad and will travel north and south to the grounds across the country as they Vincent Kompany and the team seek to win the title for the second consecutive season.