Manchester City's fixture list for 2023/24 has thrown up plenty of nuances, with extremely difficult runs of games in October and March.
From October, City face Arsenal, Brighton, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham in the space of seven Premier League fixtures, and the same group of games are reversed in the Spring.
In March, City will play United, Liverpool, Brighton and Arsenal all in a row, and around key Champions League fixtures to make the task even more difficult.
With six Champions League group games before Christmas, the fixture computer has thrown up some potentially difficult weeks where City are in European action either side of games that could turn out to be crucial in the league.
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The Champions League group stage kicks off on September 19/20, in between a trip to West Ham and a home fixture with Nottingham Forest.
The second matchday of the group stage comes on October 3 or 4 after a trip to Wolves and before an eagerly-anticipated clash with Arsenal at the Etihad.
Later in October, City host Brighton, then play their next Champions League fixture on October 24 or 25, before travelling to Manchester United for the first derby of the season.
The matchday four fixtures are on November 7 or 8, and come in between a home clash with Bournemouth and a potentially tricky trip to Chelsea.
After the November international break, City welcome Liverpool in the Premier League, face a crucial matchday five on November 28 or 29 in Europe, and then host Tottenham immediately afterwards.
The final matchday - where City will hope to have secured qualification - comes between a first trip to Kenilworth Road to take on Luton, and a home meeting with Crystal Palace.
City are guaranteed a place in Pot One in the Champions League after winning the competition but could face Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig or Porto from Pot Two. Selected other teams across Pots Three and Four include AC Milan, Real Sociedad and Celtic.
That means City could face a run of fixtures like Liverpool at home, Real Madrid away, and Tottenham at home - or Brighton at home, Inter Milan away, and Manchester United away.
Assuming City qualify for the last-16, the first leg could take place on one of two midweeks in February. Either it could be played in between Premier League home fixtures against Everton and Chelsea, or it could be played between the Chelsea game and a trip to Bournemouth.
The second leg will be played in the middle of a difficult March fixture list, either between United at home and Liverpool away, or between Liverpool away and Brighton away.
Should City progress to the quarter-finals, the first leg will come after the trip to Crystal Palace and before the visit of Luton. The second leg, a week later, will be played before the ever-difficult trip to Tottenham. However, should City or Spurs reach the FA Cup semi-finals, that would likely cause the Premier League game to be rearranged.
On to the potential semi-finals, and City face Nottingham Forest away before the first legs on April 30 or May 1. Then Wolves visit City at the weekend, before the second leg on May 7 or 8, and then a tricky trip to Fulham.
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