The pre-season fitness & finance balance

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Defending champions Chelsea head to China and Singapore

Premier League clubs are flying all over the world on their pre-season tours as they prepare for another gruelling top-flight season.

As teams aim to strike the perfect balance between fitness and finance, here’s a rundown of pre-season fixtures and results for all 20 Premier League clubs.

Pre-season fixture list:

Arsenal

13 July: Sydney FC 0-2 Arsenal. ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia. Goals: Mertesacker, Lacazette

15 July: Western Sydney Wanderers 1-3 Arsenal. ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia. Goals: Lustica; Giroud, Ramsey, Elneny

19 July: Bayern Munich (Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China)

22 July: Chelsea (Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing, China)

29 July: Benfica (Emirates Stadium)

30 July: Sevilla (Emirates Stadium)

6 August: Chelsea (Community Shield, Wembley)

Bournemouth

15 July: Estoril Praia 1-2 Bournemouth. Stadium Municipal, Marbella, Spain. Goals: Eduardo; Ibe, Gradel

22 July: Portsmouth (Fratton Park)

29 July: Queens Park Rangers (Loftus Road)

30 July: Valencia (Vitality Stadium)

2 August: Yeovil Town (Huish Park)

6 August: Napoli (Vitality Stadium)

Brighton and Hove Albion

14 July: Fortuna Dusseldorf 0-2 Brighton. Sportplatz St Ulrich, Austria. Goals: Murphy, Hemed

22 July: Crawley Town (Checkatrade.com Stadium)

25 July: Southend United (Roots Hall)

29 July: Norwich City (Carrow Road)

1 August: Girona FC (Nou Estadi Municipal de Palamos, Catalonia, Spain)

6 August: Atletico Madrid (Amex Stadium)

Burnley

14 July: Shamrock Rovers 0-4 Burnley. Tallaght Stadium, Dublin. Goals: Walters, Barnes, Brady, Vokes

22 July: Kidderminster Harriers (Aggborough Stadium)

22 July: Alfreton Town (The Impact Arena)

25 July: Preston North End (Deepdale)

29 July: Nottingham Forest (City Ground)

1 August: Celta Vigo (Turf Moor)

5 August: Hannover 96 (Turf Moor)

Chelsea

22 July: Arsenal (Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing, China)

25 July: Bayern Munich (National Stadium, Singapore)

29 July: Inter Milan (National Stadium, Singapore)

6 August: Arsenal (Community Shield, Wembley)

Crystal Palace

15 July: Maidstone United 1-3 Crystal Palace. Gallagher Stadium. Goals: Pigott; Mutch (2), Berkeley

19 July: Liverpool (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong)

22 July: Leicester City or West Brom (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong)

5 August: Shalke 04 (Selhurst Park)

Everton

13 July: Gor Mahia FC 1-2 Everton. National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Goals: Tuyisenge; Rooney, Dowell

19 July: FC Twente (SV De Lutte, Overijssel, Netherlands)

22 July: KRC Genk (Luminus Arena, Genk, Belgium)

6 August: Sevilla (Goodison Park)

Huddersfield Town

12 July: Accrington Stanley 0-1 Huddersfield. Wham Stadium. Goal: Ince

16 July: Bury (Gigg Lane)

18 July: SV Sandhausen (BWT Stadium, Sandhausen, Germany)

22 July: Barnsley (Oakwell)

1 August: Stuttgart (Schwaz, Austria)

4 August: Torino (Jenbach, Austria)

Leicester City

19 July: West Brom (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong)

22 July: Crystal Palace or Liverpool (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong)

26 July: Luton Town (Kenilworth Road)

28 July: MK Dons (Stadium MK)

29 July: Wolverhampton Wanderers (Molineux Stadium)

1 August: Burton Albion (Pirelli Stadium)

4 August: Borussia Monchengladbach (King Power Stadium)

Liverpool

12 July: Tranmere Rovers 0-4 Liverpool. Prenton Park. Goals: Milner (pen), Grujic, Chirivella, Woodburn

14 July: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Liverpool. DW Stadium. Goals: Gilbey; Salah

19 July: Crystal Palace (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong)

22 July: Leicester City or West Brom (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong)

29 July: Hertha Berlin (Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany)

1 August: Bayern Munich (Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany)

2 August: Atletico Madrid or Napoli (Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany)

5 August: Athletic Club (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)

Manchester City

21 July: Manchester United (NRG Stadium, Houston, USA)

27 July: Real Madrid (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA)

29 July: Tottenham Hotspur (Nissan Stadium, Nashville, USA)

4 August: West Ham United (Laugardalsvollur National Stadium, Reykjavik, Iceland)

Manchester United

16 July: LA Galaxy (Stubhub Centre, Los Angeles, USA)

18 July: Real Salt Lake (Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, USA)

21 July: Manchester City (NRG Stadium, Houston, USA)

23 July: Real Madrid (Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, USA)

27 July: Barcelona (FedExField, Washington DC, USA)

30 July: Valerenga (Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, Norway)

2 August: Sampdoria (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)

8 August: Real Madrid (Uefa Super Cup, Philip II Arena, Skopje, FYR Macedonia)

Newcastle United

14 July: Heart of Midlothian 1-2 Newcastle. Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh. Goals: Walker; Gayle 2

22 July: Preston North End (Deepdale)

26 July: Bradford City (Northern Commercials Stadium)

29 July: FSV Mainz 05 (Opel Arena, Mainz, Germany)

2 August: Wolfsburg (AOK Stadion, Wolfsburg, Germany)

6 August: Hellas Verona (St James’ Park)

Southampton

Training camps planned for Austria and France

22 July: Brentford (Griffin Park)

29 July: Saint-Etienne (Stade Municipal de Chambery, France)

Stoke City

10 July: Neuchatel Xamax 0-1 Stoke City. Tissot Arena, Biel, Switzerland. Goal: Sejmenovic og

12 July: Young Boys Bern 2-2 Stoke City. Stoke win 4-3 on pens. Tissot Arena. Goals: Guillaume, Yoric; Adam (pen), Muniesa

15 July: Monaco 4-2 Stoke City Stade d’Octodure, Martigny, Switzerland. Goals: Fabinho, Saint-Maximin, Falcao, N’Doram; Berahino, Diouf

25 July: Sheffield United (Bramall Lane)

29 July: Bolton Wanderers (Macron Stadium)

5 August: RB Leipzig (Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany)

Swansea City

12 July: Barnet 1-0 Swansea. The Hive Stadium. Goal: Akinde

15 July: Philadelphia Union (Talen Energy Stadium, Philadelphia, USA)

19 July: Richmond Kickers (City Stadium, Richmond, USA)

22 July: North Carolina FC (Sahlen’s Stadium, Cary, USA)

29 July: Birmingham City (St Andrew’s)

5 August: Sampdoria (Liberty Stadium)

Tottenham Hotspur

23 July: Paris St-Germain (Camping World Stadium, Orlando, USA)

26 July: Roma (Red Bull Arena, Harrison, USA)

29 July: Manchester City (Nissan Stadium, Nashville, USA)

5 August: Juventus (Wembley)

Watford

8 July: Woking 1-1 Watford. Laithwaite Community Stadium. Goals: Bawling, Jakubiak

15 July: AFC Wimbledon 3-2 Watford. Cherry Red Records Stadium. Goals: Mcdonald (2), Egan; Watson, Berghuis

18 July: Viktoria Plzen (Austria)

22 July: SD Eibar (Austria)

29 July: Aston Villa (Villa Park)

5 August: Real Sociedad (Vicarage Road)

West Bromwich Albion

12 July: SK Slavia Prague 2-1 West Brom. Kumberg Stadium, Kumberg, Austria. Goals: Deli, Frydrych; McClean

19 July: Leicester City (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong)

22 July: Crystal Palace or Liverpool (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong)

26 July: Walsall (Banks’ Stadium)

26 July: Burton Albion (Pirelli Stadium)

29 July: Bristol Rovers (Memorial Stadium)

29 July: Slough Town (Kevin McGoldrick testimonial, Arbour Park)

1 August: Kidderminster Harriers (Aggborough Stadium)

1 August: Port Vale (Vale Park)

5 August Deportivo La Coruna (Estadio Riazor, A Coruna, Spain)

West Ham United

28 July: Werder Bremen (Osterwald Stadion, Schneverdingen, Germany)

29 July: Werder Bremen (Heinz-Dettmer Stadion, Lohne, Germany)

1 August: Altona 93 (Adolf-Jager-Kampfbahn Stadium, Hamburg, Germany)

4 August: Manchester City (Laugardalsvollur National Stadium, Reykjavik, Iceland)

Huddersfield Town are preparing for their first season in the Premier League

How do clubs choose where to travel?

Sheffield Hallam University’s Wilson said the USA was an obvious choice for many.

“When you look at Manchester United, they are heavily sponsored by American companies,” he said.

“It also ties in with the increased interest in MLS. The infrastructure is already in place, the stadiums are there and fans’ interest is there. Clubs already have associations with football in America.

“In the Far East it is more difficult to sort out, logistically, so clubs have to work much harder to make a success of a tour.”

He says the focus has switched slightly this summer.

“Clubs do tend to work on a cyclical basis – there was a lot of activity in the Far East last year. I was half expecting teams to do some work in Japan this summer, especially a club like Chelsea, who have their Yokohama shirt deal.

“But maybe it is because China are concentrating much more on the Chinese Super League, so there is a bit of a conflict and the tours would not get as much attention.

“In terms of other countries – such as Africa – there are problems of infrastructure. It is getting to the point, though, where a club might need to do something different.”

What impact does long-haul travel have on players?

Football fitness coach Simmonds, who is working with Manchester City’s young striker Patrick Roberts, says a lot of work goes into the pre-season tours.

“Obviously the travelling is going to take its toll, but the staff at these clubs know what they’re doing. Jet lag can cause a problem, but coaches and medical staff will make sure the players get enough rest,” he said.

“You can become stiff during long-haul flights especially after training, so your body needs to recover. But these players travel first class on flights so they will be able to stretch their legs and get rest.”

While the clubs might be looking at the financial benefits, Simmonds says the players will be solely focused on their fitness.

“They’ll be looking to get lots of game time, even players who may not play regularly during the season will play in as many games as possible.

“It’s all about strength and conditioning, making sure the core and glutes have been worked on. They’ve had four or five weeks off so they need to get the brain switched on. The players that have been drinking or not looking after their body quite as much as maybe they should need to get back into it.”

All fixtures are subject to change. BBC is not responsible for any changes.


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