THE 2022/23 DOMESTIC SEASON KICK-OFF.
Manchester City retained the English Premier League title. They are back in business to make it three in a row.
Paris St. Germain reclaimed the French Ligue 1 title last season and they are back in business to pick up a record-breaking 11th league title.
Ajax retained the Dutch Eredivisie title. They are back in business to make it four league titles in a row.
Bayern Munich’s target is their 11th successive Bundesliga title.
Porto is back in business to close in on Benfica’s league title record.
Five of Europe’s top 7 leagues will kick off their new season on (August 5. 2022) Friday.
The English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, the French Ligue 1, the Dutch Eredivisie, and the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
Ajax, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Paris St. Germain will kick off their season away from home; making FC Porto the only defending champion to start their title defense season at home.
August 5. 2022
Eintracht Frankfurt vs BAYERN MUNICH
August 6. 2022
Clermont Foot vs PARIS ST GERMAIN
Fortuna Sittard vs AJAX
FC PORTO vs Maritimo
August 7. 2022
West Ham United vs MANCHESTER CITY
2022/23 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE KICKOFF
Arsenal will be at Selhurst Park to open the new season against a Crystal Palace side that can make things difficult at their home for any team. Their preseason run should give them the confidence to get the maximum points on the opening day of the 2022/23 English Premier League season. Arsenal blew their opportunities when it counted the most and missed out on Champions League qualification at the end of last season.
Liverpool is back to make a push again for the Premier League title after dramatically losing it to Manchester City on the final day of the season. They will be blessed to face a newly-promoted Fulham. The expectation is for Liverpool to leave London with all three points and put some pressure on Manchester City.
Tottenham is the only team to finish in the ‘top 4’ last season and kick off the season with a home game. Tottenham will be host to Southampton.
Everton will host Chelsea for their first game of the season. Both clubs are under pressure to prove that this season will be a season of progress. Chelsea looks to be in decline, while Everton has declined. It’s the first game of the season and a win feels like a must for both clubs.
Manchester City is scheduled to play the final fixture of the opening round (away) against West Ham. It will be a test for both clubs.
August 5.
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
August 6.
Fulham vs Liverpool
Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
Leeds vs Wolves
Newcastle United vs Nottingham Forest
Tottenham vs Southampton
Everton vs Chelsea
August 7.
Leicester City vs Brentford
Manchester United vs Brighton
West Ham vs Manchester City
2022/23 GERMAN BUNDESLIGA SEASON KICKOFF
There is a Berlin derby in the opening round of the Bundesliga season (Union Berlin will host Hertha Berlin).
Bayern Munich will begin their title defense season by kicking off the season at Frankfurt. The odds are in favor of Bayern to end the season with their 11th straight league title. Despite a poorer form in the league last season, Frankfurt comes into this season as the reigning UEFA Europa League champions.
Dortmund will get their season started at home against Leverkusen. Both clubs finished in the top four last season so we expected a tight game. 5 points separated them in the league standings at the end of last season. Dortmund should aim to do better than 2nd, and Leverkusen should aim to do better than 3rd.
RB Leipzig will be at Stuttgart for the points to chase another ‘top 4’ finish this season; preferably ‘top 2’.
Newly-promoted Schalke will chase their extended stay in the top flight by looking for their first point(s) of the season in Cologne.
August 5.
Frankfurt vs Bayern Munich
August 6.
Augsburg vs Freiburg
Bochum vs Mainz
Monchengladbach vs Hoffenheim
Union Berlin vs Hertha Berlin
Wolfsburg vs Werder Bremen
Dortmund vs Leverkusen
August 7.
Stuttgart vs RB Leipzig
FC Koln vs Schalke
2022/23 DUTCH EREDIVISIE SEASON KICKOFF
Heerenveen and Sparta Rotterdam kickoff the 2022/23 Dutch Eredivisie season as the only match scheduled on Friday. Ajax is scheduled to defend the league title the following day in an away fixture with Fortuna Sittard. PSV Eindhoven will kick off their title challenge season by playing host to the newly-promoted Emmen, while Feyenoord will be at Vitesse.
August 5.
Heerenveen vs Sparta Rotterdam
August 6.
Fortuna Sittard vs Ajax
Cambuur vs Excelsior
PSV Eindhoven vs Emmen
RKC Waalwijk vs Utrecht
August 7.
Groningen vs Voledam
NEC Nijmegen vs Twente
Vitesse vs Feyenoord
AZ Alkmaar vs Go Ahead Eagles
2022/23 FRENCH LIGUE 1 SEASON KICKOFF
Lyon needs to improve on their performance from last season so playing the season-opening match of the 2022/23 French Ligue 1 at home against newly-promoted Ajaccio is ideal. Ajaccio does not have the burden of expectation to carry in this tie. It is the perfect moment for them to reintroduce themselves to Ligue 1 after an 8-year absence.
Paris St. Germain is scheduled to kick off their title defense season the following day away against Clermont Foot. Marseille will close the round at home against Reims.
August 5.
Lyon vs Ajaccio
August 6.
Strasbourg vs Monaco
Clermont vs Paris Saint-Germain
August 7.
Toulouse vs Nice
Angers vs Nantes
Lens vs Brest
Lille vs Auxerre
Montpellier vs Troyes
Rennes vs Lorient
Marseille vs Reims
2022/23 PORTUGUESE PRIMEIRA LIGA SEASON KICKOFF
They remain the most successful club in the competition but Benfica has not added to their league title record since 2019. Benfica will play the season opener with Arouca. A win will be expected for Benfica to get them on the right track for their 38th league title.
FC Porto will kick off their title defense season at home against Maritimo. A win will be expected from their opening game to put them on the right track for their 31st league title.
There was a 20-point gap between 2nd place Sporting CP and 4th place Braga in the final standings of the 2021/22 Portuguese Primeira Liga, but since Braga was the closest to the ‘Big Three’ they might be inspired to push a little closer this year.
August 5.
Benfica vs Arouca
August 6.
Rio Ave vs Vizela
Estoril vs Famalicao
Porto vs Maritimo
August 7.
Santa Clara vs Casa Pia
Braga vs Sporting CP
Chaves vs Vitoria de Guimaraes
Portimonense vs Boavista
August 8.
Gil Vicente vs Pacos de Ferreira
