Premier League fixtures: Gruelling late-season run key to Manchester City title bid

Manchester City face a gruelling run of fixtures towards the end of the season which look like they will be pivotal to their hopes of winning the Premier League.

The 2017-18 top-flight calendar was announced on Wednesday, ahead of a season where Pep Guardiola is desperate to land the title after only managing a third-place finish in his first season since arriving from Bayern Munich.

And he will likely not be thrilled that the fixture generator has handed City a particularly tough run of games at a crucial time of the campaign.

In a seven-week span from February 24 to April 14, five of City’s matches come against teams who competed near the top of the table last season – Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham.

The full run is Arsenal (away), Chelsea (home), Stoke City (away), Brighton (home), Everton (away), United (home) and Tottenham (away).

But if City are able to get through that span of games still in title contention, their final four matches of Swansea City (home), West Ham (away), Huddersfield Town (home) and Southampton (away) will give them confidence.

The first five… Mark these down in your calendar! #mcfc pic.twitter.com/YynGJiyhQH

— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 14, 2017

Guardiola will also have key fixtures to negotiate at the start of the season, with home clashes versus Everton and Liverpool on matchdays two and four respectively.

City are also away to champions Chelsea on September 30 in just their seventh match of the season, while the first Manchester derby of the campaign is at Old Trafford on December 9.

Manchester City’s 2017-18 fixtures in full:

12/08/2017 – Brighton and Hove Albion v Manchester City
19/08/2017 – Manchester City v Everton
26/08/2017 – Bournemouth v Manchester City
09/09/2017 – Manchester City v Liverpool
16/09/2017 – Watford v Manchester City
23/09/2017 – Manchester City v Crystal Palace
30/09/2017 – Chelsea v Manchester City
14/10/2017 – Manchester City v Stoke City
21/10/2017 – Manchester City v Burnley
28/10/2017 – West Brom v Manchester City
04/11/2017 – Manchester City v Arsenal
18/11/2017 – Leicester City v Manchester City
25/11/2017 – Huddersfield Town v Manchester City
29/11/2017 – Manchester City v Southampton
02/12/2017 – Manchester City v West Ham 
09/12/2017 – Manchester United v Manchester City
12/12/2017 – Swansea City v Manchester City
16/12/2017 – Manchester City v Tottenham 
23/12/2017 – Manchester City v Bournemouth
26/12/2017 – Newcastle United v Manchester City
30/12/2017 – Crystal Palace v Manchester City
01/01/2018 – Manchester City v Watford
13/01/2018 – Liverpool v Manchester City
20/01/2018 – Manchester City v Newcastle United
31/01/2018 – Manchester City v West Brom
03/02/2018 – Burnley v Manchester City
10/02/2018 – Manchester City v Leicester City
24/02/2018 – Arsenal v Manchester City
03/03/2018 – Manchester City v Chelsea
10/03/2018 – Stoke City v Manchester City
17/03/2018 – Manchester City v Brighton and Hove Albion
31/03/2018 – Everton v Manchester City
07/04/2018 – Manchester City v Manchester United
14/04/2018 – Tottenham  v Manchester City
21/04/2018 – Manchester City v Swansea City
28/04/2018 – West Ham  v Manchester City
05/05/2018 – Manchester City v Huddersfield Town
13/05/2018 – Southampton v Manchester City