The Premier League games we can’t wait for in 2020/21, including Liverpool vs Leeds this weekend plus derby clashes and the ‘Spygate’ rivalry resumed
The 2020/21 Premier League season kicks off this weekend and we here at talkSPORT can’t wait!
The madness will start all over again this Saturday and a number of priceless top flight memories will be made over the following eight months.
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Can Liverpool win the title again? Liverpool head into the new term as the defending champions but Manchester City and Chelsea have already recruited well in the transfer window as they attempt to close the gap.
Meanwhile, Manchester United will be keen to build on their success of finishing in the top four last season and Leicester, Arsenal, Wolves and Tottenham have their own Champions League qualification ambitions.
This season also sees the return of Leeds United, a huge club despite their 16-year absence from the Premier League. West Brom and Fulham joined them in getting promoted from the Championship.
talkSPORT is the home of live football and we will bring you more than 100 Premier League commentaries across the season, with GameDay keeping you well and truly covered every single Saturday.
We’ll start things off with Fulham vs London rivals Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime before bringing you Crystal Palace v Southampton and Liverpool v Leeds LIVE.
There’ll be plenty of drama over the coming weeks but what matches are we most excited for? Find out below…
Premier League fixtures in FULL: Dates and kick-off times for entire 2020/21 season confirmed
Liverpool vs Leeds United – September 12, 2020 – LIVE on talkSPORT
Liverpool begin the defence of their Premier League crown against Championship winners Leeds on the opening day and it will be the headline match of talkSPORT’s first GameDay special of the new term.
Although both clubs would admit Manchester United are probably their biggest rivals in the top-flight, there is no love lost between these two behemoths of the English game.
Jurgen Klopp has awoken the sleeping giant at Anfield and clinched the European Cup and Premier League title in the space of just over a year with his frightening side.
Marcelo Bielsa has also rejuvenated a football mad city with his eccentric style and swashbuckling tactics, with the Argentine hoping he can keep the Whites in the Premier League after their 16-year absence.
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Steven Gerrard and Alan Smith tangle for possession in the last top flight game between Liverpool and Leeds at Anfield Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur – October 3, 2020
Jose Mourinho returns to Old Trafford once again in October as he takes his Spurs side back to his old stomping ground for a clash with Premier League and potential Champions League permutations.
However, there are several sub-plots which make the tie so potentially mouth-watering.
The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport remain hopeful fans can re-enter stadiums from October 1 and Old Trafford could potentially be the venue.
What a sight for those lucky few as Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford pit their wits against one another.
There is also the added hope Roy Keane could be on commentary duty; it was the reverse fixture last season which prompted his astonishing rant at Harry Maguire and David De Gea two months ago.
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It’s almost a rite of passage to be on the end of a Keane hiding Everton vs Liverpool – October 17, 2020
The Merseyside derby is always one of the most fascinating clashes of any Premier League season, purely for the intensity and passion on display.
With Liverpool and Everton set to meet in the middle of October, fans could well be back in the stadium for this clash to add fuel to the already burgeoning flames.
When the two finally meet, it will mark exactly a decade since Everton last claimed victory in this fixture; goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta securing a 2-0 win at Anfield.
The Toffees would love nothing more than to dent Liverpool’s title defence as they seek to defend their first ever Premier League crown.
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The Merseyside derby last season was the most watched game in Premier League history Manchester City vs Manchester United – December 12, 2020
A week after the first north London derby of the season, fans can get excited about the first Manchester derby of the season.
The fixture has become more and more prevalent in terms of the Premier League title race over the past ten years thanks to the influx of Emirati money at the Etihad.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer managed to mastermind a Premier League double over Pep Guardiola last season (2-1 away from home and then 2-0 at Old Trafford) and would love to prove it was not a fluke.
Yet his Spanish counterpart knows he needs to start next season with authority after poor performances domestically and in Europe have led to some critics questioning his omniscience.
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Guardiola will be seeking vengeance next season after Solskjaer’s double in the league Leeds United vs Manchester United – Saturday, December 19, 2020
A rivalry for the ages, we can’t wait to see Leeds and Manchester United lock horns once again.
The two teams have faced each other in the FA Cup and League Cup while Leeds have been out the Premier League – but that’s just not the same though, is it?
Staying up is Leeds’ priority and they ultimately won’t be judged for their results against the better teams, but fans would love to get one over on the Red Devils, who were at the top for so many of the Premier League years, while the Yorkshire side fell away.
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Leeds played Man United in a friendly in Australia last summer. Their Premier League meetings will be far more intense though
“Leeds fans have been through so much in the last 16 years - this is for them,” says Whites star Stuart Dallas
Liverpool vs Manchester City – Saturday, February 6, 2021
It was more a casual parade to a first ever Premier League title for Liverpool as they finished streets ahead of everyone else in 2019/20.
They wrapped things up with SEVEN games to spare, finishing 18 points above nearest rivals Man City. Pep Guardiola’s men have got a huge point to prove after losing their status as the best side in England so spectacularly.
They mean business in the transfer market, having already splashed the cash to sign centre-back Nathan Ake and forward Ferran Torres.
Sparks flew when Liverpool faced City at Anfield last term, with a clash between Joe Gomez and Raheem Sterling carrying on into the following day. The title race is likely to be closer so it should be an even more passionate affair.
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Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have a respectful rivalry. It’s anything but between the players though Leeds United vs Aston Villa – Saturday, February 27, 2021
Even though he didn’t actually break any rules, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa was hugely criticised for ‘Spygate’. But the Argentine knows how to play fair too.
Three months after that saga blew up, Bielsa’s actions during Leeds’ most recent clash against Villa would earn the Whites a fair play award. Football, eh?
Both sides were gunning for promotion from the Championship then and Leeds broke the deadlock in controversial circumstances as Mateusz Klich put the ball in the net despite Jonathan Kodjia, the Villa forward, going down injured.
After clashes between both sets of players, Bielsa ordered his team to let Villa score. Albert Adomah obliged and the contest finished 1-1. Villa ended up earning promotion to the top flight, while Leeds had to wait another year.
Any more scenes like that and we’ll be absolutely here for it.
Is the Premier League ready for potential scenes like these? Arsenal vs Tottenham – Saturday, March 13, 2021
Fans were robbed of a wonderful spectacle when Spurs took on Arsenal at their new stadium for the first time as social distancing rules preventing them from attending.
But the Spurs fans at home did at least see their team get the better of their north London rivals, coming from behind to win 2-1.
However, there have been so many classic Premier League matches whenever the two sides have faced each other at the Emirates Stadium.
Last time out, Arsenal claimed a point against Spurs after coming back from 2-0 down, the season before they won 4-2 having earlier been 2-1 down.
Spurs have had their success on Arsenal’s home patch too. In 2010/11, they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and who can forget that incredible 4-4 back in 2008? Don’t you dare miss this one!
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This will be a hard-fought and entertaining contest Leeds United vs Chelsea – Saturday, March 13, 2021
Something for the older fan, Leeds’ promotion will also see the writing of another chapter in their long-standing rivalry with Chelsea.
Its roots arguably come from the heights of football hooliganism in the 1970s and 1980s – a bit of Yorkshire Grit vs Flash Cockneys (even though Stamford Bridge is in west London).
However, the rivalry can be traced back to the 1970 FA Cup final, in which a very physical Leeds side were uncompromising in their treatment of the more stylish Chelsea (who did know how to give it themselves, it must be said).
Tackles flew in and referee Eric Jennings by all accounts lost control of things at various points. Amazingly though, no player was sent off and only one was shown a yellow card.
That, coupled with many other physical displays by Don Revie’s men earned them the title ‘Dirty Leeds’.
However, this rivalry has a modern feel to it too. Leeds vs Chelsea will be Marcelo Bielsa vs Frank Lampard.
Cast your mind back to the ‘Spygate’ incident in January 2019 where Bielsa admitted to sending a member of staff to spy on Derby, who were managed by Lampard at the time, ahead of a clash in the Championship.
Lampard had the last laugh as Derby ended Leeds’ promotion hopes in the play-offs that season. Imagine the scenes if the Chelsea players celebrate a goal by pretending to hold some binoculars…
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Lampard has played the rivalry down but emotions like this suggest otherwise… Chelsea vs Arsenal – Wednesday, May 12, 2021
With Liverpool and Man City virtually challenging for the title on their own, the race for the Champions League went right down to the wire last season.
If the feat should repeat itself, then this fixture towards the end of the season could well be one of the most explosive London derbies in recent times.
Lampard managed to steer Chelsea to the Champions League in his first season as Blues boss, taking the club to an FA Cup final as well.
Yet Mikel Arteta outwitted Lampard to lead Arsenal to FA Cup glory and he’ll be desperate to wield yet more magic in north London in his first full season in charge, having looked every inch a Premier League boss from the moment he left Guardiola’s Man City coaching team midway through the season.
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Chelsea and Arsenal fought to an enthralling 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge last season Leicester vs Tottenham – Sunday, May 23, 2021
It will feel like a case of déjà vu for Leicester fans as they face another top four rival at home on the final day of the season.
Brendan Rodgers’ side slipped out the Champions League places at the very last hurdle after they were defeated by Manchester United last month and will be out for revenge.
Yet they face perhaps the most dangerous prospect in world football next year; second season Mourinho.
Historically, the Portuguese excels in his second season with a club; his second season with Porto came in 2003/04 when they won the Champions League, while in 2009/10 he clinched an incredible treble with Internazionale.
Spurs fans will be hoping ‘The Special One’ still has plenty of magic moments left as they seek a return to European football’s top tier.
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Tottenham defeated Leicester after the restart to dent their Champions League ambitions *All fixture dates and kick-off times subject to change, according to TV and radio selections