Manchester City have been handed a testing month at the back end of the year, according to the Premier League fixtures list for the 2016/17 season, which was announced on the 15th of June.
Manchester City announced, FC Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola as their new manager with the hope that the Spaniard will bring immediate success. Guardiola has enjoyed successful stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but the Premier League will be a whole new ball game. Judging from City’s tough run in December and January, the former Barca manager will be spending his holiday season trying to overcome their title rivals.
Guardiola’s first game in charge at his new side will be at home to Sunderland — a side that narrowly escaped the clutches of relegation this past season. That game is followed by a tricky away trip to the cold and inhospitable Britannia Stadium to take on Stoke City.
The new City boss will have his first taste of the Manchester Derby when his side make the short bus ride along M16 to play rivals Manchester United at the Theater of Dreams on 10th September. Just like their neighbours, the Red Devils are under the reign of a new manager in Jose Mourinho. Pep and Jose have crossed paths back when they were in Spain and it will be interesting to see how their rivalry fares in England, kick-starting on the 10th of September.
A tricky December for Pep Guardiola
Guardiola’s winters at Bayern were generally a sabbatical, as the Bundesliga would enjoy a winter-break. But it’s going to be a hectic period for him in the Premier League this time round.
The month of December starts with Manchester City hosting Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. By then, the Italian would have spent a good three months at the helm and his Blues side would certainly make it tough for Guardiola’s men. In the following week, it’s a game against the defending champions Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. While nobody truly knows how the Foxes will show up next season, Ranieri’s astuteness and the Foxes die-hard attitude is bound to make it a cracker of a game.
On the 17th of the month, Arsene Wengers’ Gunners will parade into the town of Manchester to take on City. Clashes between this pair have accounted for a lot of drama in the past few seasons and would be a treat to watch for the neutral. City then travel to Anfield on New Year’s Day to play their final game of 2016 against Liverpool.
Manchester City’s December will be cold for Pep Guardiola. Chelsea, Leicester, Watford, Arsenal, Hull, Liverpool to come. #MCFC
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 15, 2016
In 2017, games against Tottenham Hotspur on 21st January and Manchester United on 25th February will be the only major games in the first couple of months of the new year.
April looks to be the most intense month on the Premier League calendar of 2017 for Manchester City. Guardiola’s men will travel to London to take on the duo of Arsenal and Chelsea within four days of each other, and if City were to progress in the Champions League and/or the FA Cup, then their schedule will be packed with six matches in April.
In the penultimate week of the season, Leicester City come visiting the Etihad — a fixture which saw the Foxes outfox Manchester City by a 3-0 scoreline in 2015-16. It is certainly going to be a mountain to climb if Pep is to win the title in his debut season.
Here are the Citizen’s fixtures for the 2016-17 season:
August:
13th – Sunderland (H)
20th – Stoke City (A)
27th – West Ham United (H)
September:
10th – Manchester United (A)
17th – Bournemouth (H)
24th – Swansea City (A)
October:
1st – Tottenham (A)
15th – Everton (H)
22nd – Southampton (H)
29th – West Bromwich Albion (A)
November:
5th – Middlesbrough (H)
19th – Crystal Palace (A)
26th – Burnley (A)
December:
3rd – Chelsea (H)
10th – Leicester City (A)
14th – Watford (H)
17th – Arsenal (H)
26th – Hull City (A)
31st – Liverpool (A)
January:
2nd – Burnley (H)
14th – Everton (A)
21st – Tottenham Hotspur (H)
31st – West Ham United (A)
February:
4th – Swansea City (H)
11th – Bournemouth (A)
25th – Manchester United (H)
March:
4th – Sunderland (A)
11th – Stoke City (H)
18th – Liverpool (H)
April:
1st – Arsenal (A)
5th – Chelsea (A)
8th – Hull City (H)
15th – Southampton (A)
22nd – West Bromwich Albion (H)
29th – Middlesbrough (A)
May:
6th – Crystal Palace (H)
13th – Leicester City (H)
21st – Watford (A)
