Latest news with #fixturelist
New York Times
11-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Fantasy Premier League: Analysing the early-season fixtures – does anyone have an easy start?
The most settled metric in Fantasy Premier League to build your Gameweek One team around is the fixture list, with pre-season form often an unreliable indicator in the classic battle of form vs fixtures. For 2025-26, the fixture analysis is compelling, with none of the clubs you'd traditionally invest in having a remarkable start in terms of their opening games. Add into the mix a full complement of chips for the first half of the season, plus a boost to five free transfers for Gameweek 16, and chip strategy becomes a key consideration, too. Before the Premier League season even kicks off, we've had Crystal Palace beating Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield, while Tottenham Hotspur will travel to Italy to contest the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. As it stands, Crystal Palace actually have six competitive fixtures in August, with their demotion to the UEFA Conference League — Palace have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to present the club's case for reinstatement to the Europa League — seeing them in two-legged play-off action in the midweeks between the opening three Premier League gameweeks. For the other sides who have qualified for European football this season (Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Spurs, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest), they have no midweek fixtures in August once the Premier League has begun. That presents a big advantage compared to the other sides not in Europe, who have Carabao Cup second-round action in the midweek between Gameweek Two and Gameweek Three. Following Gameweek Three, from September 1-9, we then have the first international break of the season. Following this first international break at the start of September, the schedule then really ramps up for those clubs in Europe as the group stages of those competitions begin. By this time, the summer transfer window has closed. Advertisement Given the proximity of the first international break and gaps in the midweek schedule for the teams we traditionally invest in, I'm going to initially look at the fixtures for the opening three gameweeks of the season. Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Spurs and Chelsea each have two home games in this three-game period, with reasonable opening fixtures across the board. Forest top the Fantasy Football Hub fixture ticker, which ranks teams by the overall ease of their games over the opening six gameweeks. Nottingham Forest host Brentford and West Ham, sandwiching a trip to Crystal Palace, who could well be fatigued given their European commitments. They do then face Arsenal in Gameweek Four, before they face promoted teams Burnley and Sunderland, giving their assets some longevity. Aston Villa have a trickier opener at home to Newcastle United, but investors shouldn't be put off: Villa Park is a fortress, with Unai Emery's side coming off 4-1 victors in this fixture back in April. They then face Brentford and Crystal Palace. Their favourable schedule extends until Gameweek Nine. Spurs have a tough away trip to Manchester City in Gameweek Two, but their home games either side are much kinder, beginning with promoted Burnley and then Bournemouth. New head coach Thomas Frank could make an early impact and their fixtures remain positive into September and October. Chelsea will be thankful for a favourable run of opening fixtures after a busy summer winning the Club World Cup, meaning a shorter pre-season for them. They face Crystal Palace, West Ham and Fulham in their first three games. The schedule remains kind in September before they host Liverpool in early October. Manchester City face a trip to Wolves in Gameweek One, who have been a bogey team for them in the past. Following their clash with Tottenham in Gameweek Two, it's then a trip to Brighton, with the Manchester derby coming immediately after the international break. Advertisement Liverpool's opening schedule is tough to call. They begin the season hosting Bournemouth in the Friday-night game on August 15, but then travel to Newcastle United before entertaining Arsenal in Gameweek Three. Beyond that, it's a trip to Burnley and the Merseyside derby at Anfield. Arsenal share the same challenging start given that meeting in Gameweek Three between last season's top two. They kick off their campaign at Old Trafford in Gameweek One, with their home game against promoted Leeds United in Gameweek Two a key one to target. Their schedule doesn't improve into September, where they face Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle United. Newcastle United have the toughest opener of all the sides involved in Europe, travelling to Aston Villa on the opening weekend before hosting Liverpool. Their trip to Leeds United in Gameweek Three could be the time to jump on board their assets, with Wolves and Bournemouth after the break. Bearing in mind that Liverpool and Arsenal face off in Gameweek Three and Newcastle United are against Leeds United, this could provide an early opportunity to use the Free Hit chip. Manchester United hosting Burnley and Brentford entertaining Sunderland are also fixtures to target here. It's important for managers to consider their chip strategy when building a draft for Gameweek One, since it could heavily impact how far into the future you look ahead in terms of fixtures. Given the addition of five free transfers to cover Africa Cup of Nations call-ups in Gameweek 16, there's an even stronger case for an early wildcard this season, perhaps as soon as Gameweek Four. This also allows you to build team value quickly. Fixture runs around Gameweek 16 will also be worth planning for. Arsenal head into a good run of fixtures at this point, with Wolves, Everton, Brighton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth in their festive schedule. Advertisement It's important to have a loose strategy to start the season with, but that could provide inflexibility further down the line. While there are no predicted double gameweeks in the first half of the season, external factors like bad weather could change things. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Daily Mail
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
CALUM McCLURKIN: Time has run out for this sport to run away from its problems… D-Day has arrived
The incoming chairman of the British Horseracing Authority was named last November with a view to taking up the role on June 2. It is now late July and the sport is still waiting on whether Lord Charles Allen will take up the position he was earmarked for almost nine months ago. He hosts a BHA meeting tomorrow where we should, finally, get a definitive answer. The reason for the delay? Well, after an extended period of due diligence, Allen has a certain number of demands and has fears over an unworkable governance structure in the sport. The main sticking point is understood to be the BHA's lack of control over the fixture list. Too much racing for too few horses has been a bug bear of this sport for a decade. But how to persuade racecourses run by different factions to give up meetings when they need to be put on for them to operate is borderline impossible. Racecourses have to get more innovative to make ends meet if racing isn't the be all and end all. More music after shows and extra activities are being utilised. In this day and age, every penny is a prisoner. While racing is billed as the main attraction, racecourses need to offer more. When it comes to sporting events, people want more bang for their buck. There are side shows everywhere you look, even in golf, tennis, football and rugby just to name a few other sports. More places to explore, more places to sit and more options for a generation of kids who get easily bored. It will be a tough sell for the BHA to seize some commercial control over racecourses. For instance, what's the BHA's role in York Racecourse's efforts to secure a massive crowd yesterday with the added – or lesser appear for hardened racing enthusiasts – in getting Ronan Keating to play a concert afterwards that's contributed to a crowd of 10,000 or more? None. Or the sponsorship of races. Or Ascot's effort to ensure next year's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes will become the first race in Britain to be worth £2million. Or, at the other end of the scale, Hexham's brilliant initiatives to keep ticketing prices down. A modicum of hope for some wriggle room on the fixture list is the sensible scaling back of the disastrous Premier Racing model. Whether Allen accepts the role or not, he and the BHA will have to persuade racecourses to relent a little control for the greater good of a sport that feels like it is being attacked on all sides. The Jockey Club are on board, jockeys and trainers seem to generally be in favour of Allen being the man to produce some sort of radical change in approach to stop racing treading water. Affordability checks on punters biting into racing's finances. That will be further compounded as the sport waits with bated breath to see if the 'Axe the Racing Tax' lobbying efforts will pay off during parliamentary recess. If not then a £66million per year whack is forthcoming to the industry via the Treasury Autumn Statement. It all adds to why a final answer from Allen tomorrow is critical. Racing desperately needs a strong figure to try to instigate change. With financial headwinds looming large, racing can no longer afford this rudderless kind of leadership. There's too much at stake. If Allen, a Labour peer with an extensive business background, deems it not to be worth his while then racing might well be up the creek without a paddle. BRILLAINT SPONSORSHIP BOOST FOR AYR GOLD CUP… A HANDICAP ON THE UP The importance of racing to local communities is vital and a main selling point in the sport's bid to persuade MPs to 'Axe the Racing Tax'. This applies to Ayr and it's vital sponsorship is secured for big races such as the Gold Cup and Scottish Grand National; two dates that are locked in the diary of locals year in year out. Securing bookmaker giant Ladbrokes for the next three years to sponsor the Ayr Gold Cup is a huge fillip for a six-furlong handicap that continues to rise in importance in the whole racing calendar. The September showpiece is increasingly being viewed by top trainers as a very good prize to go for and with the narrowing gap between Group One horses and handicappers at sprint level, it can be utilised as a race for seriously progressive horses as a stepping stone to be one of the best sprinters in the country. Look at American Affair. He was favourite last year but didn't stay the trip. The Scottish-trained horse then went on to make history by winning the Group One King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. The Ladbrokes Ayr Gold Cup will be worth £180,000, the Silver Cup £65,000 and Bronze Cup £35,000. Virgin Bet were terrific long-term sponsors of the race and helped hugely in raising the profile of the race. Tomorrow is the last of four Mondays in a row of racing at Ayr and the ground has been in excellent shape on each occasion. The irrigation issues of around a decade ago are long forgotten and the investment on track has enhanced the racecourse's reputation. Its flagship race is in rude health in a difficult climate. It will be terrific to see the economic benefits and the buzz of an Ayr Gold Cup weekend in a town centre that, like many across Scotland, is badly flagging. It's a shot in the arm for the community and don't underestimate the impact to us locals! PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK… CALANDAGAN was all class to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Beaten in the Coronation Cup at Epsom on tacky ground, a more conventional track and quicker ground saw this valuable mid-season prize go to the French raider. Jan Brueghel was found wanting for pace, while Rebel's Romance was a shade unlucky but limitations at the very highest level was exposed. Kalpana, who ran a screamer in second, kicked for home and stole a march but it only dragged Calandagan further into the race. He racked up a few seconds and in beating Kalpana eroded any doubts about this four-year-old from France trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, who won a second King George on the spin. He was ridded confidently by Mickael Barzalona aswell. Karl Burke landed a big prize at York and can also cause a mini-shock at Pontefract today... SELECTION OF THE DAY… Karl Burke produced a mini-surprise at York yesterday when Royal Champion won the Group Two Sky Bet York Stakes. The Yorkshire handler can pull off a similar trick with another horse trained by Sheik Obaid in the feature at Pontefract today. BOILING POINT (6-1, William Hill) looks like a horse which is coming to, err, the boil for the Pomfret Stakes (2.55). Burke's horses have improved significantly for their first run of the season and Boiling Point can build on a decent run at Newcastle when he tired late on off top weight in a warm handicap. Point Lynas is a respected favourite but had a hard race when running well from the front in the Summer Mile just two weeks ago. Last year's Pomfret Stakes winner might be a shade vulnerable after that big effort, while second favourite Prague probably wants soft ground. Make Me King and Cicero's Gift have the form to play a part on a going day but Boiling Point seems a bit more trustworthy and the door is ajar for Burke to plunder yet another nice prize up north.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Buff - An official Bolton Wanderers fixture list reaction podcast!
Listen to Marc Iles and Henry Hewitt discuss the newly released fixture list for Bolton Wanderers (Image: BN) The official fixture list is out - so join Marc Iles and Henry Hewitt to cast an eye over the 2025/26 season in League One. Stockport County are first up, and on a Sunday afternoon too, firing up for a tough-looking August. Advertisement The lads pick out their key games, and discuss an April and May schedule that is tricky to say the least. Does it matter? We have to play them all twice. Of course it does. The regular Buff Podcast will be out, as usual, on Friday morning with all the usual features. We have a special offer for Buff listeners - with up to 40 per cent off subscription to The Bolton News. Visit our special discount page to get three months of unlimited articles for £3 OR a whole year for just £31. For more details please CLICK HERE. Click BELOW to listen to the podcast direct on The Bolton News website. The Buff is also available on Apple Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts if you wish to have the episode download straight to your phone or tablet every single week. Advertisement If you are interested in sponsoring or advertising on the podcast, contact our advertising department on Do you want to join our Buff Fantasy League this season? If so CLICK HERE Remember, it isn't just a podcast, it's The Buff Podcast. And we're here every Friday. If you want to get in contact with the show, please email thebuffmail@ or tweet Marc on @MarcIles and @Henry__Hewitt And please, please leave a review. We work hard to put these episodes out every single week, in-season and out, and the more feedback we get, the better the product. Having said all that, we are currently only accepting five-star ratings, as all the other ratings are broken.
The Sun
16-06-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Fans convinced Premier League fixtures have been leaked with feisty opening games and huge Boxing Day derby
A "leaked" Premier League fixture list has been making waves online ahead of Wednesday's big reveal. Top-flight teams will find out the full schedule for the 2025/26 season on June 18. 2 2 More than 48 hours before the list is published, a set of Prem fixtures have been circulating online. The schedule, claiming to show the entire season, has been viewed over 400,000 times on X. In the list, champions Liverpool would be away at Brighton on the opening day. Tottenham would host Manchester United, while newly promoted Leeds welcome Arsenal. Newcastle are down to host Manchester City at St James' Park. But fans were quick to point out a problem - Toon have already confirmed they are not playing their opening match at home. Newcastle will be away in their first fixture as nearby Sunderland are hosting the Women's Rugby World Cup over the second weekend. Eagle-eyed fans also noticed Liverpool had been put down twice to play Nottingham Forest. One fan pointed out on X: "Forest at home twice." Another wrote: "Wrong, NUFC are away first game." While a third laughed: "This happens every year and every year it's wrong." And a fourth commented: "Never happening. If you play your first game away you don't play your last game away." In the supposed leak, Newcastle's eagerly-awaited Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland is listed for Boxing Day. Another fan responded: "Too many games that have rivals both at home or away which can't happen with police and no way will the derby be on boxing day." The confirmed fixtures for the 2025/26 Premier League season will be released on Wednesday at 9am BST. All 20 clubs will learn the provisional dates for all of their fixtures, although some fixtures are subject to change. The exact date and time at which individual matches take place will be determined at regular intervals throughout the season based on TV selections.
