Manchester United: 2012/13 Premier League Schedule Released

The 2012-13 English Premier League season might seem like an eternity away, but with the recent release of the official schedule, it feels like it is almost upon us once more.

Manchester United will be eager to take the fight back to their noisy neighbors Manchester City, who clinched their first league title in 44 years and left United without a single trophy next to their name all season. Well, there was the Community Shield, but that's really clutching at straws.

Predictions and analysis of the upcoming season for United is far too premature, with many variable factors still not known—like who will be playing for the Red Devils next season. What we can do however, is take a look at the schedule and assess the key moments that will could take place throughout the season.

We know that they will play 38 Premier League matches and we know that they will play every team twice; what we didn't know was what impact and context those matches were going to be played in. 

Now we do, so let's take a look at the Premier League schedule for the Red Devils next season.

Week	Date	Opponent	Venue
1	18 August	Everton	Goodison Park
2	25 August	Fulham	Old Trafford
3	1 September	Southampton	St. Mary's Stadium
4	15 September	Wigan Athletic	Old Trafford
5	22 September	Liverpool	Anfield
6	29 September	Tottenham Hotspur	Old Trafford
7	6 October	Newcastle United	St. James' Park
8	20 October	Stoke City	Old Trafford
9	27 October	Chelsea	Stamford Bridge
10	3 November	Arsenal	Old Trafford
11	10 November	Aston Villa	Villa Park
12	17 November	Norwich City	Carrow Road
13	24 November	Queens Park Rangers	Old Trafford
14	27 November	West Ham	Old Trafford
15	1 December	Reading	Madejski Stadium
16	8 December	Manchester City	Etihad Stadium
17	15 December	Sunderland	Old Trafford
18	22 December	Swansea City	Liberty Stadium
19	26 December	Newcastle United	Old Trafford
20	29 December	West Bromwich Albion	Old Trafford
21	1 January	Wigan Athletic	DW Stadium
22	12 January	Liverpool	Old Trafford
23	19 January	Tottenham Hotspur	White Hart Lane
24	29 January	Southampton	Old Trafford
25	2 February	Fulham	Craven Cottage
26	9 February	Everton	Old Trafford
27	23 February	Queens Park Rangers	Loftus Road
28	2 March	Norwich City	Old Trafford
29	9 March	West Ham	Boleyn Ground
30	16 March	Reading	Old Trafford
31	30 March	Sunderland	Stadium of Light
32	6 April	Manchester City	Old Trafford
33	13 April	Stoke City	Britannia Stadium
34	20 April	Aston Villa	Old Trafford
35	27 April	Arsenal	Emirates Stadium
36	4 May	Chelsea	Old Trafford
37	12 May	Swansea City	Old Trafford
38	19 May	West Bromwich Albion	The Hawthorns

A couple of key points to pick up on here, starting with the Red Devils' opening match, which sees them take on Everton at Goodison Park. Everton showed that they can mix it with the best in the English Premier League last season, and could prove to be a tricky opening encounter for Manchester United—especially given their home-ground advantage.

The first touch stretch for Sir Alex Ferguson's men starts on September 22, where United will take on their fiercest rivals, Liverpool, at Anfield. Then they will take on Tottenham Hotspur at home, Newcastle away and Stoke at home. 

If that wasn't bad enough, they'll then travel to Stamford Bridge to take on the UEFA Champions League victors before welcoming Arsenal to Old Trafford the following week. The Red Devils would do very well to not drop at least five or six points throughout that five-game stretch.

Their easiest stretch of football looks to come in late February and March, where they will play five games in a row against lesser teams of the Premier League. United will play Queens Park Rangers, West Ham and Sunderland on the road and Norwich and Reading at home. 

Considering also that Manchester United could be in contention for the FA Cup finals and Champions League knockout rounds, having an easier stretch in the Premier League could be a huge boost for the Red Devils. 

United threw away their chances at the league title with poor performances in the final few weeks of the competition, and will no doubt intend to rectify those mistakes next season. However, with home matches to Manchester City and Chelsea as well as away games to Arsenal and Stoke City, finishing off the season strong will be no easy feat for United.

Overall, you'd have to suggest that United will be satisfied with their schedule. Their toughest stretch occurs early in the season rather than later on, and they have an easy stretch at the time that they would like it the most.

What sticks out to you for the Red Devils' 2012/13 Premier League schedule?

Comment below or hit me up on Twitter—Follow @dantalintyre