Alex Keble looks at key matches following Fixture Release Day on Thursday.
Will Arsenal v Man City in October be season-defining?
If we are anticipating another battle between Arsenal and Manchester City for the Premier League title, all eyes are on their meeting in early October. By then, we should know how things are going to out.
Of all the clubs with title aspirations, Man City are the happiest today.
Their opening fixtures are frictionless, beginning with Burnley at Turf Moor, Newcastle United at home, and Sheffield United away, and without a tough away encounter until Arsenal on 7 October.
Then again, in an unusual twist for Man City, many of their most difficult matches come in two clumps in October to November and February to March.
They have Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Manchester United through October, followed by AFC Bournemouth, Chelsea, and Liverpool in November. If one of the chasing pack is to hunt Man City down it might well be here.
Similarly, they play four of the traditional "big six" clubs in a six-fixture sequence in early spring.
Arsenal, meanwhile, enjoy a smooth start of Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium, Crystal Palace, and Fulham, with home matches against Man Utd and Tottenham Hotspur the only major tests before the head-to-head with Man City, in which they again have home advantage.
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Advantage City?
There is clearly a chance here for Mikel Arteta to reset Arsenal and emulate the form that put them in contention last autumn, although Man City still ultimately hold the fixture-list advantage.
When it comes to the run-in - where it all went wrong for Arteta’s side last season - Arsenal are at Spurs on 27 April and travel to Old Trafford on the penultimate day of the season, whereas City don’t play any of last season’s top six in their final eight matches after hosting Arsenal on 30 March.
That is significant. Pep Guardiola’s team always seem to end strongly and 2023/24 provides the chance, once again, to prove they are invincible in the final stretch.
Beat Arsenal at the end of March and one would expect Man City to have a successful run through the rest of the season.
Also in this series
Part 1: Can Pochettino benefit from kind start?
Part 2: Will Liverpool and Man Utd relish early challenges?
Part 3: Can Postecoglou navigate through series of tough matches?