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2019/2020 Premier League pre-season: All you need to know as teams gear up for another season
It’s the time that footballers openly admit to hating - as Premier League clubs start to make their return to training grounds across the country to get ready for the 2019/2020 season, burpees, shuttle runs, the bleep test and double training sessions wait in store.
After the initial intense training, players can start to look forward to getting some game time.
Friendlies are arranged all around the globe as clubs take part in tournaments, and that is exactly how many of the top English clubs will be spending their pre-season.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham will all be taking part in the International Champions Cup alongside Europe’s elite clubs.
Those games are spread across the USA, Europe and Asia. Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea have opted not to take part in the competition despite being involved last year.
These matches are being billed as a tournament, but managers are still keen to rotate playing time, giving youngsters and chance and making sure their top players don’t overdo any match time before the competitive Premier League season starts.
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Arsenal will play all of their games in the USA, taking on Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in the opening game of the competition before facing Italian side Fiorentina and Real Madrid, who will have Zinedine Zidane at the helm for his second spell in charge.
Tottenham won the competition last season and their defence of the title starts by playing Juventus in Singapore. Once upon a time it would have been unthinkable to play a pre-season fixture against a side in the same league as you, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side will then travel to Shanghai to come up against fellow Premier League side Manchester United.
Their final fixture takes place in their own stadium in London - Italian giants Inter Milan will be the visitors just six days before Spurs’ first league fixture.
Before taking part in the International Champions Cup, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will travel to Australia and do battle against old rivals Leeds United of the Championship and Australian A-League side Perth Glory.
Other than their clash with Tottenham in the tournament, Manchester United will also come up against Inter in Singapore and then their final game will be in Cardiff, playing against Inter’s great rivals AC Milan to conclude their participation in the competition.
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Liverpool will still tour the USA, playing manager Jurgen Klopp’s former side Borussia Dortmund, Spanish club Sevilla and Sporting Clube de Portugal all in the space of just five days.
Before that though, the Reds, who finished second in the Premier League and won the Champions League, will face Tranmere Rovers of League One and Bradford of League Two.
Chelsea, who have appointed club legend Frank Lampard as their new boss will play across several regions during their pre-season. The Blues have two games in Ireland to start their campaign, before travelling to Japan to play Kawasaki Frontale and Spanish champions Barcelona.
Chelsea won’t travel to the USA this year though, instead they will finish their preparations in Austria and then in Germany when they face Borussia Monchengladbach.
Premier League champions Manchester City will be based in Asia for their entire pre-season and start by coming up against Premier League side West Ham United in the Premier League Asia Trophy.
Victory or defeat in that game will decide who they play in their next Premier League fixture, they will take on either Wolves or Newcastle in that match. Both of those fixtures will be in China before Pep Guardiola’s side play in Hong Kong and then Japan in two more pre-season matches.
Both Liverpool and Manchester City will have factored the Community Shield into their pre-Premier League fixtures schedule - with the semi-competitive match taking place on the 4th August at Wembley Stadium.
The Premier League top six - pre season schedules in full:
Arsenal:
Colorado Rapids - Colorado, 16th July
Bayern Munich - California, 18th July
Fiorentina - North Carolina, 20th July
Real Madrid - Washington DC, 24 July
Lyon - London, 28th July
Angers - Angers, 31st July
Barcelona - Barcelona, 4th August
Chelsea:
Bohemians - Dublin, 10th July
St Patrick's Athletic - Dublin, 13th July
Kawasaki Frontale - Yokohama, 19th July
Barcelona - Saitama, 23rd July
Reading - Reading, 28th July
Red Bull Salzburg - Salzburg, 31st July
Liverpool:
Tranmere Rovers - Birkenhead, 11th July
Bradford City - Bradford, 14th July
Borussia Dortmund - Indiana, 20th July
Sevilla - Boston, 21st July
Sporting Clube de Portugal - New York City, 21st July
Napoli - Edinburgh, 28th July
Lyon - Geneva, 31st July
Manchester City:
West Ham - Nanjing, 17th July
Wolves or Newcastle - Shanghai, 20th July
Kitchee FC - Hong Kong, 24th July
Yokohama F Marinos - Yokohama, 24th July
Manchester United:
Perth Glory - Perth, 13th July
Leeds United - Perth, 17th July
Inter Milan - Singapore, 20th July
Tottenham - Shanghai, 25th July
Kristiansund - Oslo, 30th July
AC Milan - Cardiff, 3rd August
Tottenham:
Juventus - Singapore, 21st July
Manchester United - Shanghai, 25th July
Real Madrid - Munich, 30th July
Bayern Munich or Fenerbahce - Munich, 31st July
Inter Milan - London, 4th August
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