Liverpool have a golden opportunity to clear three points from Manchester City on the opening day of the Premier League season.
The full list of fixtures 2020/21 was released on Thursday with the Reds looking to relegate to newly promoted Leeds United on match day one at Anfield on 12 September.
Jurgen Klopp’s men will hope to start their top flight crown defense with a victory on the side of Marco Bielsa – given that only one team has ever won the title after losing on the first day.
However, they will have to contend without strong competition, with City looking for exact revenge after a disappointing season in which they finished 18 points behind Liverpool in the league and crashed out of the Champions League to Lyon and lost in the FA Cup final. to Arsenal.
Rivals and top four finishers Chelsea and Manchester United will also put a lot of pressure on the Reds, but the strongest competition is expected to come from Pep Guardiola.
City’s match at Matchweek one – scheduled to take place against Aston Villa on September 12 – has been postponed due to its explosions in Europe. Manchester United’s competition with Burnley has also suffered the same fate with both games being rescheduled.
That gives Liverpool a golden opportunity to place distance between themselves and two of their closest title rivals in the first week of the new Premier League season, although Leeds have never lost their opening match for top flight.
A buffer for the defending champions would be a really positive one, given the fact that they have a difficult start to the 2020/21 campaign with games away to Chelsea, Aston Villa and Everton all falling within the first five games of the season. Reds, while they have to force themselves with a visit from Arsenal in the middle of that too.
That said, Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge in September and the first Merseyside derby of the season takes place at Goodison on October 17, which could mean fans will not attend due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The government wants to report with plans to get a limited number of supporters back in stadiums with reduced capacity from the beginning of October, but with only a limited number possible there is a lack of atmosphere that can help Klopp’s side – although in non-ideal circumstances and the return equipment may be in the same boat at Anfield.
Positive though, the Reds should have had enough to go with all these teams, given the world class standard they showed last term, but nothing would ever have to be taken for granted and Liverpool will have to shoot to reach 15 points and the rest of the division they mean business again.
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In their preparations for the campaign, the Reds are set to meet Bundesliga side Stuttgart and former Champions League opponents RB Salzburg in friendly matches in Austria, while on August 29 they will also meet Arsenal at Wembley in the Community Shield.
Because of the caliber of all three of those teams, Klopp will get the chance to really form his team in the form prior to the upcoming campaign, and they should then be in great shape by September 12th.
Elsewhere in the list of fixtures, the traditionally busy Christmas period is again p
awarded for the Reds, but games look favorable at that time.
Liverpool will travel to Crystal Palace, host West Brom and visit Newcastle on 19, 26 and 28 December before welcoming Southampton on 2 January and taking a trip to Burnley on 18 January for the League Cup semi-finals and third round. FA Cup is set to take place.
However, the fixture schedule for the Reds in general is very tainted – in particular the fact that they will be competing in Europe again and if they advance to the finals or any league they play in this season, they will they have three to five games every day from September 12 until the Champions League final on May 29 before the Euro 2021 competition starts this summer.
In terms of the European Cup, Liverpool and City have three home games and three away games after their group stage tie.
And there is even a clash between the two teams – at the Etihad on November 7 – just three or four days after European group action.
So that will be a tough period for both title-chasing clubs – given their aspirations next term and the fact that City travel to Old Trafford on December 12 after their final Champions League Champions League match and before the busy Christmas period really kicks off.
The loyal Anfield, meanwhile, would be happy to learn when the match list was released on Thursday morning that Liverpool’s entry at the business end of the Premier League season seems to be advantageous.
Their last four games are at home against Southampton, away to West Brom and Burnley before Crystal Palace visit Anfield on the final day.
Liverpool will also travel to Manchester United on May 1, ahead of those four matches, and that could be a very important match if things are tight at the top of the table.
Klopp has never won at Old Trafford and that is something he may have to place next term, given his desire to defend the crown.
The Reds will fully expect to challenge for the title again next term and if they start well, while negotiating some difficult obstacles along the way, they are busy doing just that.
And the fixture list itself can probably be seen as a positive for that endeavor, should things go according to plan, with everyone afraid how unrelenting and consistent side of Klopp might be after opening a hole at the top of the table.
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