Alex Iwobi and his Everton teammates have been handed a seemingly tough fixture in the opening weekend of the Premier League 2022/23 season.
According to the fixtures released on Thursday, Everton on Saturday, August 6, will be hosting Chelsea at the Goodison Park.
Iwobi and his teammates secured a crucial 1-0 win the last time the Blues visited Goodison Park and they would be hoping they can start the season with a bang when Thomas Tuchel’s men come calling again.
Having narrowly escaped relegation last season; waiting till the penultimate match before guaranteeing their safety, the Toffees will have to hit the ground running from the opening day to avoid being caught up in another rat race for survival.
Under Frank Lampard, Iwobi has enjoyed a new lease of life; starting over a dozen matches consecutively under the English manager.
The Nigerian midfielder has never had it so good under other managers, even while he was at Arsenal.
Other fixtures
Also on the opening weekend of action, the Super Eagles trio of Ademola Lookman, Kelechi Iheanacho and recuperating Wilfred Ndidi will be at home with Leicester City against Frank Onyeka’s Brentford.
Despite their strong finish to the season, the Foxes lost out on a place in Europe with their eight-place finish and thus must not only finish well next season but also start well.
For Onyeka, he would be hoping for more game time as he only made 20 appearances overall and played 1,048 minutes for the Bees last season.
The Nigerian started in 12 of these appearances across 38 fixtures and came on as a substitute on eight occasions.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are on the road, travelling to Crystal Palace for their first Premier League fixture.
The Gunners, who disappointedly missed out on Champions League football with their fifth-place finish last season, will be taking on a familiar face in the form of former captain Patrick Vieira.
Vieira led the Eagles to a 3-0 win over Mikel Arteta’s side at Selhurst Park last season.
Elsewhere, reigning champions Manchester City start away to West Ham, while Manchester United and Tottenham are at home to Brighton and Southampton, respectively.
Here are the 2022/23 opening day fixtures in full:
05/08/2022 20:00 Crystal Palace v Arsenal
06/08/2022 15:00 A.F.C. Bournemouth v Aston Villa
06/08/2022 17:30 Everton v Chelsea
06/08/2022 12:30 Fulham v Liverpool
06/08/2022 15:00 Leeds United v Wolverhampton
06/08/2022 15:00 Leicester City v Brentford
06/08/2022 15:00 Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest
06/08/2022 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton
07/08/2022 14:00 Manchester United v Brighton
07/08/2022 16:30 West Ham United v Manchester City
Here are the 2022/23 final day fixtures in full:
28/05/2023 16:00 Arsenal v Wolverhampton
28/05/2023 16:00 Aston Villa v Brighton
28/05/2023 16:00 Brentford v Manchester City
28/05/2023 16:00 Chelsea v Newcastle United
28/05/2023 16:00 Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest
28/05/2023 16:00 Everton v A.F.C. Bournemouth
28/05/2023 16:00 Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur
28/05/2023 16:00 Leicester City v West Ham United
28/05/2023 16:00 Manchester United v Fulham
28/05/2023 16:00 Southampton v Liverpool
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