Liverpool Schedule 2015-16: Premier League Fixtures Released

Liverpool will begin their 2015-16 Premier League campaign away at Stoke City as they look to re-establish themselves amongst the English elite.

The fixtures for the upcoming top-flight term were released on Wednesday and the Reds' opening six games include further away trips to Arsenal and Manchester United.

Liverpool requested an away game to open their season to give contractors as much time as possible to complete ongoing building work on Anfield's Main Stand, per the Liverpool Echo's Andy Kelly.

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Brendan Rodgers' side will be eager to make a good start to the new term after they fell to sixth last season following a title challenge and second-place finish in 2013-14.

Here is the full Premier League schedule for the Anfield outfit in 2015-16, provided by the Premier League's official website:

Date	Opponents	Location
Aug. 8.	Stoke City	Away
Aug. 15.	Bournemouth	Home
Aug. 22.	Arsenal	Away
Aug. 29.	West Ham United	Home
Sept. 12.	Manchester United	Away
Sept. 19.	Norwich City	Home
Sept. 26.	Aston Villa	Home
Oct. 3.	Everton	Away
Oct. 17.	Tottenham Hotspur	Away
Oct. 24.	Southampton	Home
Oct. 31.	Chelsea	Away
Nov. 7.	Crystal Palace	Home
Nov. 21.	Manchester City	Away
Nov. 28.	Swansea City	Home
Dec. 5.	Newcastle United	Away
Dec. 12.	West Bromwich Albion	Home
Dec. 19.	Watford	Away
Dec. 26.	Leicester City	Home
Dec. 28.	Sunderland	Away
Jan. 2.	West Ham United	Away
Jan. 12.	Arsenal*	Home
Jan. 16.	Manchester United	Home
Jan. 23.	Norwich City	Away
Feb. 2.	Leicester City*	Away
Feb. 6.	Sunderland	Home
Feb. 13.	Aston Villa	Away
Feb. 27.	Everton	Home
Mar. 1.	Manchester City*	Home
Mar. 5.	Crystal Palace	Away
Mar. 12.	Chelsea	Home
Mar. 19.	Southampton	Away
Apr. 2.	Tottenham Hotspur	Home
Apr. 9.	Stoke City	Home
Apr. 16.	Bournemouth	Away
Apr. 23.	Newcastle United	Home
Apr. 30	Swansea City	Away
May 7.	Watford	Home
May 15.	West Bromwich Albion	Away

All fixture dates are subject to change. Matches marked with an asterisk (*) are currently scheduled for an evening kick-off. 

The most notable fixtures for most Reds fans will be those against bitter rivals Manchester United, the first of which is at Old Trafford on Sept. 12. The return fixture arrives at Anfield on Jan. 16.

They were convincingly beaten by the Red Devils both home and away last season, and had similarly poor results against other top-four finishers Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea.

In fact, their only victory against a top-four side in the eight matches Liverpool played last term came against the Sky Blues in March.

A sixth-placed finish, 25 points back from champions Chelsea, saw Rodgers' position as manager come under significant scrutiny, but he is set to stay on in the short term, per the Guardian's Andy Hunter.

The Northern Irishman's summer transfers will need to improve on last year's incoming players, which included the calamitous purchase of Mario Balotelli in a bid to replace Luis Suarez.

He seems to have started in decent fashion with the signing of talented English striker Danny Ings from Burnley, per BBC Sport. James Milner has also been snapped up from City on a free transfer, a very versatile signing, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

Former Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Adam Bodgan has also joined the side.

Rodgers will be without the inspirational Steven Gerrard next season after his departure to MLS club LA Galaxy.

The manager will have little margin for error after last season's poor showing, and a fast start in 2015-16 is essential, or else Rodgers could potentially be gone by Christmas.

A top-four finish and return to the Champions League is surely a minimum aim for the upcoming season, and the Reds' performances against the bigger teams must improve.

Any repeat of last season's travails, in which they lost 12 matches and conceded 48 goals, and Rodgers is unlikely to last the season.

A winning start would be ideal and most certainly welcome against Stoke, especially as the Potters whooped Liverpool 6-1 on the final day of 14-15.