Liverpool FC and Manchester City have suggested that the Premier League begins with them playing away fixtures. Both cases are associated with ongoing stadium redevelopment projects.

On Wednesday (17/06) the Premier League will announce fixtures for the 2015/16 season opening. Manchester City and Liverpool FC both submitted notions to play their first games away. Whether these  suggestions are included by the league remains unclear, but the reasoning behind both decisions is well known.

Both club currently run their stadium redevelopment projects and though they’re at completely different stages, July is crucially important for both City and The Reds.

At Anfield this is when the big lift of main roof truss over Main Stand is to take place. The steel structure will be placed high above existing seating and fans should be allowed only after all works related to that stage are complete. The stand’s expansion will take much longer, however, until the 2016/17 campaign.

In Manchester it’s nearly the end of south stand expansion at Etihad. 6,000+ new seats at the new third tier will be made available from season opening, but a month left the schedule is tight. Work is progressing very fast, as seen below. This photo by jrb was taken in late May. Since then all remaining parts of old roof were removed, the field was taken off and seats were installed in the east stand’s first three new rows.

© jrb