Premier League 2015: Month-by-month 10 of the best

The fixtures to keep an early eye out for next season

  • August 15th Manchester City v Chelsea The champions against the team whose crown they stole. An acid test for Manuel Pellegrini's squad after an imminent summer overhaul and an early chance for Chelsea to assert their superiority.
  • September 12th Manchester Utd v Liverpool The season's first renewal of English football's greatest rivalry should be an indicator of how both sides stand after what's likely to be a busy summer. For Liverpool it comes during a rotten run of away fixtures including trips to Arsenal and Everton, while for United it kick starts a difficult six week spell.
  • October 24th Sunderland v Newcastle Utd The last Tyne-Wear derby was played with the shadow of relegation looming large, this one will be an opportunity to see how both sides have progressed under Steve McClaren and Dick Advocaat. Newcastle will be trying to avoid a sixth straight derby defeat.
  • November 21st Manchester City v Liverpool James Milner will be making his return to Eastlands as a Liverpool player, but who will be Raheem Sterling be playing for? Chances are he'll be in City blue, and if so there'll be an edge to this game beyond the usual Manc/Scouse antipathy.
  • December 28th Manchester Utd v Chelsea The pick of the festive fixtures will show how far Louis Van Gaal's side have managed to bridge the gap to Jose Mourinho's champions. Three points for either side would be a huge boon heading into 2016.
  • January 2nd Leicester City v Bournemouth With Christmas out of the way both Leicester and Bournemouth will be halfway towards survival, or half way towards the drop. A win to start the new year against possible relegation rivals could be priceless.
  • February 27th Manchester Utd v Arsenal It's likely this game will serve to shuffle the top four pack and not a lot else, but there is a chance at least one of these sides will still be in with a sniff of the title when they meet at Old Trafford in February.
  • March 5th Tottenham v Arsenal We should really know if Arsenal's title challenge is a serious one or another false dawn by the time they head to White Hart Lane in March. Spurs away was the bread and butter of Arsene Wenger's great sides and will be a good gauge of the veteran manager's current crop.
  • April 16th Chelsea v Manchester City If any team is going to mount a serious challenge to Chelsea, City or not, then this will be the game in the run-in where they're looking for Mourinho's side to drop possibly crucial points.
  • May 7th West Ham Utd v Swansea City On the pitch, it's unlikely there will be much riding on this game, but it is the last to be played at West Ham's famous old Upton Park before a summer move to Stratford. A sad day for English football as another iconic old ground bites the dust.
Patrick Madden

Patrick Madden

Patrick Madden is a former sports journalist with The Irish Times