Liverpool may have three matches remaining in the current Premier League season, but they’ve already submitted a formal request to the EPL over the composition of the 2023/24 fixture list.
As reported by The Athletic, the Reds have asked for an away assignment on the opening weekend of next term due to the ongoing stadium redevelopment, with work on the expansion of the Anfield Road Stand on course to be completed by the beginning of August.
However, with a test event needing to be staged in order for the necessary safety certificate to be obtained, and the top-flight season due to start on 12 August, Merseyside officials have requested to begin the campaign with an away fixture so that everything can be in place for a home match the following week.
Paul Cuttill, Liverpool’s vice president of stadium operations, has said: “We’ve put in the request, but we haven’t had it confirmed yet by the Premier League.”
Reds chiefs will no doubt be hopeful that the expanded Anfield will be fully operational by the second weekend of the 2023/24 Premier League, so as to avoid a repeat of what happened when the revamped Main Stand opened seven years ago.
Back then, Liverpool played their first three top-flight matches of the campaign away from home, asking for the second fixture against Burnley to be switched to Turf Moor to allow for completion of the construction work (Sky Sports).
If the EPL grant the club’s request to begin next season with an away clash, it’ll be the third time in a row that Jurgen Klopp’s side get their league programme underway on the road, having travelled to Fulham last August and Norwich for their 2021/22 opener.
Indeed, if the uncanny sequence of the Reds beginning their top-flight campaign against the most recent Championship winners continues into a fifth season, they’ll start with a game against Vincent Kompany’s Clarets.
Whatever the Premier League’s response to Liverpool might be, we’ll know for sure whether they grant the wishes of Anfield chiefs when the 2023/24 fixture list is published next month.