Crocker

The Barclays Premier League season kicks off with Sunderland against Tottenham Hotspur live on Sky Sports on Saturday 11th August.

The match, kick-off 12.45pm, will be the first of 92 live Premier League games to be shown by Sky Sports during the 2007-08 season - more than ever before.

On the opening weekend, Sky Sports will show three live games, including Manchester United at home to Reading and Chelsea entertaining newly-promoted Birmingham City - a live double-header on Ford Super Sunday.

Sky Sports, in consultation with the Premier League and clubs, has now made its initial selection of 33 live games over the first four months of the season. These include:


BIG HEAD-TO-HEADS: Every clash between last year’s top four clubs in the first four months: Liverpool vs Chelsea (19 August), Manchester United vs Chelsea (23 September), Liverpool vs Arsenal (28 October) and Arsenal vs Manchester United (3 November).

MORE BIG GAMES: The top four teams will be seen in eleven other live matches.

ALL THE CLUBS: Each of the twenty clubs will be seen in this initial set of live matches with all three promoted clubs shown live in the first three months.

MAJOR DERBIES: including Manchester City vs Manchester United (19 August) Everton vs Liverpool (20 October), Sunderland vs Newcastle (10 November) and Birmingham City vs Aston Villa (11 November).

Announcing the initial live matches on Sky Sports, Vic Wakeling, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: “We shall cover every Premier League club in the first four months of the season and we shall also see last season's top four go head to head in four big games.

"The top four feature in another eleven live games in this first tranche of selections, and there will be more to come later in the season.

"This new deal gives us more live games on Sky Sports than ever before - 92 in all - which means we can offer more of the big teams and the big games but also provide a better balance of coverage of all 20 clubs.�

This season Sky Sports will offer 92 live matches from the Barclays Premier League — all covered in High Definition - and have delayed coverage of another 242 with Sky digital viewers able to choose highlights from a range of games on Football First.

Sky will also offer Barclays Premier League coverage through mobile and broadband.

Beyond the Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports' football coverage will include; up to 14 live matches a week from the UEFA Champions League; 70 live matches and end-of-season Play-Offs from the Coca-Cola Football League, live matches from Spain’s La Liga, live ties from the Carling Cup, FA Cup, and Scottish Cup, live international football including European 2008 Qualifiers for England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales and, for the first time, live games from Northern Ireland’s Carnegie Premier League.

SKY SPORTS LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE GAMES
AUGUST
DATE GAME TIME CHANNEL

Saturday 11 Sunderland v Tottenham 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 12 Chelsea v Birmingham City 1.30pm TBC
Sunday 12 Manchester United v Reading 4pm TBC
Tuesday 14 Tottenham v Everton 8pm TBC
Wednesday 15 Wigan Athletic v Middlesbrough 8pm TBC
Saturday 18 Portsmouth v Bolton 12.45pm TBC

Sunday 19 Manchester City v Man Utd 1.30pm TBC

Sunday 19 Liverpool v Chelsea 4pm TBC
Saturday 25 Sunderland v Liverpool 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 26 Man Utd v Tottenham 4pm TBC
SEPTEMBER
Sunday 2 Arsenal v Portsmouth 1.30pm TBC
Sunday 2 Aston Villa v Chelsea 4pm TBC
Saturday 15 Portsmouth v Liverpool 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 16 Manchester City v Aston Villa 4pm TBC
Sunday 23 Manchester United v Chelsea 4pm TBC
Saturday 29 Manchester City v Newcastle 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 30 Everton v Middlesbrough 4pm TBC
OCTOBER
Saturday 6 Manchester United v Wigan 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 7 Reading v Derby County 2pm TBC
Sunday 7 Fulham v Portsmouth 4.10pm TBC
Saturday 20 Everton v Liverpool 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 21 West Ham United v Sunderland 4pm TBC
Sunday 28 Bolton v Aston Villa 1.30pm TBC
Sunday 28 Liverpool v Arsenal 4pm TBC
NOVEMBER
Saturday 3 Arsenal v Manchester United 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 4 West Ham United v Bolton 4pm TBC
Saturday 10 Sunderland v Newcastle United 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 11 Birmingham City v Aston Villa 1pm TBC
Sunday 11 Portsmouth v Manchester City 4pm TBC
Saturday 24 Newcastle v Liverpool 12.45pm TBC
Sunday 25 West Ham United v Tottenham 1.30pm TBC
Sunday 25 Fulham v Blackburn Rovers 4pm TBC

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Dmac

So let me get this straight.... Sunderland get the first live game? How umm... smart of them.
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Crocker

Well they normally put a newly promoted team on the first weekend, and what other games that weekend should go on instead?

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Dmac

Bolton vs Newcastle hands down.

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Crocker

I agree with you there, but Sunderland vs Tottenham is better than the other two games Sky have picked that weekend

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Dmac

I don't know, Reading/United could be good if Reading bring the goods as they do at times.

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The Phantom

Looks good, most of the games i'd like to see are on there, since I don't have Setanta.

Crocker

Maybe if Reading were at home but not at OT, Sunderland/Tottenham is proberly my 2nd pick for game of the weekend, its a newly promoted club vs a top five team

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Dmac

Everyone knows that Spurs will beat them and Bent will most likely get a goal in his full debut...

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Crocker

Stranger things than a Sunderland win have happened in football

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