Liverpool 2018/19 Fixture List Released

Oh, this is almost painful. This is how I started this same post last year:

Ah, it’s the most beautiful time of year. When Liverpool are undefeated and we can dream of adding a sixth European Cup to our cabinet...

God damn. So close. But who could have predicted a masterclass in douchebaggery from Sergio Ramos? Oh. Right. Everyone. Everyone could have predicted that.

Anyway. Hope springs eternal!

But before all of that, the FA’s computers, which may or may not be Skynet, must first do their worst to Liverpool in an attempt to rob us of our Fowler-given glory.

All joking aside, the art of scheduling 96 teams across the top 4 flights of English football is an impressive task. In accounting for all 2,036 matches, it must avoid giving any one team more than 3 home or away matches in any 5-game set, and no team should play more than 2 matches home or away on the bounce. Also, it must account for local rivalries, e.g. keeping Everton and Liverpool away from Merseyside at the same time. And finally, the rules dictate that all teams should have home and away matches on either side of FA Cup fixtures.

In the second half of the season, the FA rips up its well-laid plans in a fit of hysteria after cup replays and necessary fixture postponements stack up, making it all one big hot mess.

In addition to the normal Premier League business, Liverpool will also be dealing with fixture congestion surrounding our European commitments, and from the two domestic cups. Unlike last year, The Reds will not have to play a Champions League qualifier, instead going straight into the Group Stage draw which will be held on August 30th.

Anyway, let’s start off with the biggest, if not the best: the Derbies.

Merseyside Derbies:

• December 1st (H)
• March 2nd (A)

Manchester United:

• December 15th (H)
• February 23rd (A)

• September 15th - Spurs (A)
• September 29th - Chelsea (A)
• October 6th - City (H)
• November 3rd - Arsenal (A)
• December 29th - Arsenal (H)
• January 1st - City (A)
• March 30th - Spurs (H)
• April 13th - Chelsea (H)

And now, because we can’t play Manchester City week-in, and week-out to the benefit of everyone, here’s the full schedule with the Stokes Burnleys of the world:

August

11 - West Ham (H)

18 - Crystal Palace (A)

25 - Brighton & Hove Albion (H)

September

1 - Leicester City (A)

15 - Tottenham Hotspur (A)

22 - Southampton (H)

29 - Chelsea (A)

October

6 - Manchester City (H)

20 - Huddersfield Town (A)

27 - Cardiff City (H)

November

3 - Arsenal (A)

17 - Fulham (H)

24 - Watford (A)

December

1 - Everton (H)

4 - Burnley (A)

8 - Bournemouth (A)

15 - Manchester United (H)

22 - Wolverhampton (A)

26 - Newcastle (H)

29 - Arsenal (H)

January

1 - Manchester City (A)

12 - Brighton (A)

19 - Crystal Palace (H)

30 - Leicester City (H)

February

2 - West Ham (A)

9 - Bournemouth (H)

23 - Manchester United (A)

27 - Watford (H)

March

2 - Everton (A)

9 - Burnley (H)

16 - Fulham (A)

30 - Tottenham Hotspur (H)

April

6 - Southampton (A)

13 - Chelsea (H)

20 - Cardiff City (A)

27 - Huddersfield Town (H)

May

4 - Newcastle United (A)

12 - Wolverhampton (H)

After a fairly easy start, things really kick into action after the September international break, with away trips to Spurs and Chelsea, and a showdown with City at Anfield in three of the four following matchdays. Southampton at home in between Chelsea and City hasn’t necessarily been a “gimmie” in recent times. And to complicate matters further, we’ll have Champions League matchdays on September 18th/19th and October 2nd/3rd.

We have to wait until December for our first Derby, but then we have Everton and United in short order. Additionally, we‘ll have Champions League Group Stage matches immediately before both derbies, on November 28th/29th, and December 11th/12th. We finish the holiday period with Arsenal at home, followed by a trip to Manchester on two-days rest. Thanks for that.

After that, it’s not nearly so bad, unless we’re actually fighting for trophies as we all hope, in which case let’s pray to the football gods to be kind on the injury front.