Premier League fixtures: Gruelling late-season run key to Manchester City title bid

After the Premier League's 2017-18 fixture list was announced, we assess Manchester City's season calendar.

Manchester City face a gruelling run of fixtures towards the end of the season which look like will be pivotal to the club's hopes of winning the Premier League.

The 2017-18 top-flight calendar was announced on Wednesday, ahead of a season where Pep Guardiola is desperate to land the title after only managing a third-place finish in his first season since arriving from Bayern Munich.

And he will likely not be thrilled that the fixture generator has handed City a particularly tough run of games at a crucial time of the campaign.

In a seven-week span from February 24 to April 14, five of City's matches come against teams who competed near the top of the table last season – Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

The full run is Arsenal (away), Chelsea (home), Stoke City (away), Brighton (home), Everton (away), United (home) and Tottenham (away).

But if City is able to get through that span of games still in title contention, its final four matches of Swansea City (home), West Ham (away), Huddersfield Town (home) and Southampton (away) will give the club confidence.

Guardiola will also have key fixtures to negotiate at the start of the season, with home clashes versus Everton and Liverpool on matchdays two and four respectively.

City is also away to champions Chelsea on September 30 in just its seventh match of the season, while the first Manchester derby of the campaign is at Old Trafford on December 9.

 

Manchester City's 2017-18 fixtures in full:

12/08/2017 - Brighton and Hove Albion v Manchester City 19/08/2017 - Manchester City v Everton 26/08/2017 - Bournemouth v Manchester City 09/09/2017 - Manchester City v Liverpool 16/09/2017 - Watford v Manchester City 23/09/2017 - Manchester City v Crystal Palace 30/09/2017 - Chelsea v Manchester City 14/10/2017 - Manchester City v Stoke City 21/10/2017 - Manchester City v Burnley 28/10/2017 - West Brom v Manchester City 04/11/2017 - Manchester City v Arsenal 18/11/2017 - Leicester City v Manchester City 25/11/2017 - Huddersfield Town v Manchester City 29/11/2017 - Manchester City v Southampton 02/12/2017 - Manchester City v West Ham  09/12/2017 - Manchester United v Manchester City 12/12/2017 - Swansea City v Manchester City 16/12/2017 - Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur 23/12/2017 - Manchester City v Bournemouth 26/12/2017 - Newcastle United v Manchester City 30/12/2017 - Crystal Palace v Manchester City 01/01/2018 - Manchester City v Watford 13/01/2018 - Liverpool v Manchester City 20/01/2018 - Manchester City v Newcastle United 31/01/2018 - Manchester City v West Brom 03/02/2018 - Burnley v Manchester City 10/02/2018 - Manchester City v Leicester City 24/02/2018 - Arsenal v Manchester City 03/03/2018 - Manchester City v Chelsea 10/03/2018 - Stoke City v Manchester City 17/03/2018 - Manchester City v Brighton and Hove Albion 31/03/2018 - Everton v Manchester City 07/04/2018 - Manchester City v Manchester United 14/04/2018 - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City 21/04/2018 - Manchester City v Swansea City 28/04/2018 - West Ham  v Manchester City 05/05/2018 - Manchester City v Huddersfield Town 13/05/2018 - Southampton v Manchester City