It’s like Christmas morning – the fixtures have been dumped from Santa’s sack all over your computer screen. It can be quite overwhelming, though. That’s why we’ve done the hard work and pored over the entire schedule to see where the points could be and when to plan a long weekend.
You can find all the fixtures here.
August
With Bournemouth, City start the season with a trip to a ground that would be small by Championship standards, let along the Premier League. However it’s a great opportunity to bag an early away win, something that was in short supply last time round. There’s also another winnable away game up at Huddersfield. It could be a lucrative month.
Best away trip Bournemouth
Mostly likely TV game Newcastle
Predicted points 4
September
OK, this is brutal. Every opponent qualified for Europe, and with the exception of Burnley, we could easily get battered in them all. After a potentially good start, this could be a nightmare month for City.
Best away trip Chelsea
Mostly likely TV game Manchester City
Predicted points 1
October
After Championship seasons with about a dozen games every month, October will feel weird. Just three league fixtures and only one at home (Fulham). Includes fun glamour trips to Anfield and Spurs’ new stadium at least. Tough ones but I think we’ll do OK.
Best away trip Spurs
Mostly likely TV game Fulham
Predicted points 4
November
An absolutely crucial month. Two very winnable home games and a trip to unreliable Everton. Matches like the one against Brighton will decide City’s fate. The winter months shape up pretty well and this is a good start.
Best away trip Everton
Mostly likely TV game Everton
Predicted points 5
December
Huge, fixture-packed month. It was December 2017 where City’s promotion push almost collapsed. This one looks relatively kind, with only one of the giants up against Warnock’s Bluebirds. They’ll fancy something against the likes of Watford, Southampton, Palace and West Ham. And maybe even United…
Best away trip Palace
Mostly likely TV game Manchester United
Predicted points 10
January
If, as I’ve generously predicted, City have a storming December, then they’ll go into January with some confidence. It’s a good job too, with both North London teams on the schedule.
Best away trip Arsenal
Mostly likely TV game Newcastle
Predicted points 3
February
A nice looking month for points here, with a trio of home games that fans will expect points from, even if it’s not a month that screams ‘Premier League glamour’.
Best away trip Southampton
Mostly likely TV game Bournemouth
Predicted points 6
March
The business end of the season looms into view. Two London big boys (West Ham and Chelsea) will arrive at the CCS but the away games at Brighton and Wolves will be the crucial ones.
Best away trip Brighton
Mostly likely TV game Wolves
Predicted points 4
April
It’s make or break time. Three away games that could prove the difference between staying up and going down. They look tough, especially with one being at the Etihad and Liverpool also visiting CCS. It means that taking into account the final game of March, City will play three of last season’s top five in the space of 21 days.
Best away trip Fulham
Mostly likely TV game Liverpool
Predicted points 1
May
Chances are City won’t be safe by this point and may need to win one of these two games. That’s probably not going to happen at Old Trafford on the final afternoon (although Jose’s boys could be mentally on the beach, so who knows?), meaning that the home finale against Palace may be the most important match of the season. Good job we’re going to win it, eh?
Best away trip Manchester United
Mostly likely TV game Crystal Palace
Predicted points 3
In summary…
The fixtures are spread out quite nicely, despite September looking bleak. December will be the most important month. Last year it was a disaster but this year it will likely be the difference between survival and relegation. My predicted points give us 41 points, which would likely be enough to stay up. But it also means that conceding one or two late equalisers through the season would probably send us plummeting down towards the Championship minnows. Buckle up.
Feature image by Stuart Bramley.