Ruben Amorim and Mikel Arteta dealt toughest hands after Prem announcement
In a lengthy interview that made the headlines for a comment about his mum being 'repulsed' by some of Jude Bellingham's antics, Thomas Tuchel also spoke about the effect the Club World Cup will have on Manchester City and Chelsea. The tournament in the United States would, he said, result in City and Chelsea being at a 'huge' disadvantage in the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.
And the England manager is not the only one to think along those lines. Several times, Enzo Maresca and Pep Guardiola have voiced their major concerns over the physical and mental demands being made on their players.
It might only be the slightest of consolations but perhaps the Premier League fixture schedulers have shown some sympathy for Guardiola and Maresca. Working on the basis that the three promoted teams are ranked 18th, 19th and 20th, the average finishing position from last season of City's first six opponents next season is 13th (12.8, to be precise).
That figure is 12th (11.67) for Chelsea. Just as significantly, Chelsea do not have to leave London until over a month into the campaign, a home starter against Crystal Palace being followed by a trip to West Ham before a derby with Fulham at Stamford Bridge is followed by a short hop to Brentford.
Of the first six teams faced by both City and Chelsea, only two finished in last season's Premier League top ten. Arsenal and Manchester United, on the other hand, each have four fixtures against top-ten teams in their opening six matches.
And the average finishing position of their first six opponents last season was eighth (8.17). That represents a decidedly more challenging start for Ruben Amorim and Mikel Arteta - who go up against each other at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the season - than the one faced by Guardiola and Maresca.
In fact, in the context of last season's form, no team has a harder opening six-game spell than the one in front of United and Arsenal. Normally, this type of imbalance produces two predictable responses.
Firstly, what's the problem? Everyone has to play everyone twice. The simple answer is that a good start can build momentum while a bad start can undermine confidence. A bad start can cost a manager his job, don't forget.
A second retort usually involves the old cliche about the Premier League is a competition in which everyone can beat everyone and that there are no easy games in the Premier League. And there is simply no truth in those assertions.
Between them, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton managed to record only 12 victories from their combined 114 Premier League games last season. Four of those 12 wins came in games against each other.
They had a combined goal difference of minus 153. There ARE easy matches in the Premier League and they normally come against teams promoted from the Championship.
That is why Nottingham Forest fans and manager Nuno Espírito Santo will be satisfied with their schedule as they face two promoted teams in their opening six fixtures. Forest's start looks as relatively inviting as City's and Chelsea's but Maresca and Guardiola will, understandably, remind everyone of their summer workload if it is suggested they have some sort of advantage.
But what is for certain is that the Premier League schedule, by its very nature, cannot be completely fair. And this time, it is Amorim and Arteta who have been dealt the trickiest hands.
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