BOX OFFICE!
The best games to watch from your sofa
ARMCHAIR football fans will be able to watch a staggering 172 live Premier League matches over the course of the next nine months.
All of last season’s top six will be in action in front of the TV cameras in the first fortnight of the season and Sky Sports and BT Sport both have some crackers lined up.
Here, the Daily Star Sunday guides you through the not-to-be-missed matches that come along in the first few weeks of the season.
Manchester United v Leicester
Friday August 10, 8pm, Sky Sports
Jose Mourinho has been The Miserable One during pre-season but Friday night is where things get real for the United boss and his players.
The Red Devils started the 2017-18 campaign with a televised 4-0 thumping of West Ham, thanks to two debut goals from Romelu Lukaku. But there’s a worrying stat for Claude Puel (right) and his Foxes, they have not triumphed at Old
Trafford since 1998.
Arsenal v Man City
Sunday August 12, 4pm,
Sky Sports
Welcome to the Premier League,
Unai Emery!
The new Gunners boss would have liked a gentle introduction to English football but he has got the exact opposite.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were runaway champions last season and are favourites to repeat the feat this time around.
The Emirates will be bouncing a week today as the post-Arsene Wenger era gets under way.
Crystal Palace v Liverpool
Monday August 20, 8pm, Sky Sports Mondays have not been the same without MNF over the summer.
The first one of the season sees Palace boss Roy Hodgson (right) take on his former club at Selhurst Park.
If Jurgen Klopp’s side want to challenge for top spot come May, they need to win games like this.
Wolves v Man City
Saturday August 25, 12.30pm
Sky Sports
Rarely has so much been expected of a newly promoted club.
Wolves arrive back in the top flight with talk of a top-half finish. Molineux will be packed to the rafters for this meeting of two of last season’s champions.
Manchester United v Tottenham
Monday August 27, 8pm Sky Sports
The fixture list was fairly kind to Manchester United in terms of their start but after Leicester and Brighton come Spurs. Just four points separated the clubs in May and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will want to lay down an early marker – where better to do that than Old Trafford?
Cardiff v Arsenal
Sunday September 2, 1.30pm Sky Sports
When Cardiff were last in the Premier League they took four points off the Manchester clubs on home soil – defeating City and holding United to a draw.
If Neil Warnock’s side want to have any chance of staying up they will need to rack up plenty of points in Wales.
Tottenham v Liverpool
Saturday September 15, 12.30pm Sky Sports
There were nine goals in the two meetings between these sides last season and their clashes rarely disappoint.
This will be the first time Klopp and his Liverpool will have faced a title rival in the campaign so could prove telling in terms of where their season is going.
West Ham v Chelsea
Sunday September 23, 1.30pm Sky Sports
Of all the storylines in the Premier League the most interesting is arguably about to play out at the London Stadium – new manager, new players and a new approach.
The hype will have died down by the time rivals Chelsea cross the capital, though, and this will be a classic blood-and-thunder London derby.
Chelsea v Liverpool
Saturday September 29, 5.30pm
BT Sport
Stamford Bridge has been a relatively happy hunting ground for Liverpool in recent years.
Their last four league visits there have brought two wins and a draw so they will hope to extend that run in front of the BT Sport cameras.
One thing that could make a difference when this game comes around is that both will go into it with one eye on a Champions League group match the following Tuesday or Wednesday.