Fixtures released tomorrow. The second season of the three year TV deal has the following packages: Package A 28 at Sat 12.30pm Sky - 6 1st picks - 14 2nd picks - 8 5th picks Package B 28 at Sat 5.30pm BT - 9 1st picks - 12 3rd picks - 7 5th picks Package C 28 at Sun 1.30pm/2.15pm Sky - 15 2nd picks - 6 4th picks - 7 5th picks Package D 28 at Sun 4pm/4.30pm Sky - 18 1st picks - 10 4th picks Package E 28 at Mon 8pm (min 18) or Fri 7.30pm/8pm (max 10) Sky - 15 3rd picks - 13 4th picks Package F 6 midweek; 8 at Sat 12.30pm or Sat 5.30pm or Sun 12pm BT - 3 1st picks - 7 2nd picks - 4 4th picks Package G 8 Bank Hols; 6 at Sun 1.30pm/2.15pm or Sun 4pm/4.30pm Sky - 2 1st picks - 2 2nd picks - 8 3rd picks - 2 4th picks Club Quotas (in alphabetical package order): Maximum: 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2 (Total = 29) Minimum: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0 (Total = 5) Pick Totals: - 38 1st picks - 38 2nd picks - 35 3rd picks - 35 4th picks - 22 5th picks
Really is impossible to predict fixtures and book flights before TV announcements. Opening weekend could be anything from a Friday to a Monday? Maybe our CL qualifier will rule out Monday for us.
The 1st weekends Liverpool can only play on either Friday night or Saturday. The 2nd weekend can only be a Saturday game. Last year I thought Sky might have opened their live match coverage with a Friday night match but when the Football League television games were announced before the Premier League's initial TV announcement their was a football league game in that slot. It's something worth looking out for this season. The reason I am so certain is that the TV companies will have to select their initial live matches for August and September about a month before knowing if Liverpool play their qualifying match on a Tuesday/Wednesday or the reverse combination. City were the team last season involved in the same playoff's as Liverpool and both their opening two matches were Saturday games.
I hate you Gary, now my inquisitive mind wants to know have LFC ever played either team as a 1st League fixture in any season?
Never have we played Everton as a 1st game in the League. We have played United once as a 1st game in season 1926-27 winning 4-2 at Anfield. My memory is a little sketchy around this match. But the excellent lfchistory.net has the details. http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/3676#matchdaytable The season started very late that year on the 28th August. I wonder why?
I wonder is it built into the fixture computer logic for certain ties to be avoided on the first or last day of the season.
Arsenal was a fairly big fixture last season. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/jun/15/fixtures-premier-league-football-league-compiled The Premier League and Football League also try to avoid big games on the opening day of the season and on occasions such as Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
I'd imagine Sky have something to do with it. The hype for the opening day creates itself, they don't need extra glamour to sell that. If everything is random its amazing how often the big 4 clash on the same day.
The amount of conspiracy theories that arise every year at the start of a season is always interesting. Despite all the money the TV companies put into the game, I would doubt they have any actual influence on the fixtures. It's in the PL own interests to have big matches available across lots of time slots for the worldwide television audience, the clever picking of matches throughout the season in the different packages provide a broad spread of slots for the biggest games now.
Lionel when the big 4 was just 4 teams they always played one after the other on a super Sunday. For it to happen once would be a coincidence, to happen twice in one season? To happen twice 3 or 4 seasons in a row without influence from TV companies, not happening.