By chief football news reporter Simon Stone

Matches around European games

This will be even more keenly assessed than usual given the four clubs in the Champions League and two in the Europa League will have eight first-phase games rather than six. Long trips before or after European games do not go down well with managers.

Matches around internationals

There are international breaks in September, October, November and March. In Europe, the first three of those are for Nations League fixtures. World Cup qualifiers in Europe start in March 2025, though in South America and Asia they are being played in all four windows. England managers tend not to be keen on blockbuster league matches immediately before a break and club bosses are equally unhappy at having to play key matches after them when so many players get back on Thursday or Friday.

Festive fixtures

To allow for a mid-August start, there will not be a winter break this season. The Premier League has assured clubs they will not be asked to play twice in less than 60 hours at any point over Christmas and New Year. That rules out any club playing on 26 December also having a game on 28 December. There will be no Christmas Eve fixture in the 2024-25 season. As the FA Cup third round has been moved from its traditional home on the first weekend of January to the second, it does seem there will be four rounds of fixtures over the festive period – starting on 21 December and ending on 5 January.

New managers

Four Premier League clubs already have new managers – Fabian Hurzeler (Brighton), Enzo Maresca (Chelsea), Arne Slot (Liverpool) and Julen Lopetegui (West Ham) – with a fifth to come at Leicester. So that’s a new era beginning at 25% of clubs before a ball has been kicked. Russell Martin will take charge of a top-flight game for the first time after Southampton’s promotion.