The 2006/2007 FA Premier League Season is due to begin this August. Kick-off is the weekend of 19/20 August 2006.

Last year's top three: Chelsea (1st), Manchester United (2nd) and Liverpool (3rd) are set battle it out again this season.

Champions Chelsea will take on FA Cup winners Liverpool in the season's curtain-raiser, the FA Community Shield, which takes place on Sunday, August 13, 2006 (15:00 BST) at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales.

Last year's big question: 'Could Chelsea win two in a row?'.

The answer: Yes, Chelsea COULD win back-to-back Premiership titles. But can they win again in 2006/07 to get the HAT TRICK? We'll see! Bring on the 2006/2007 Season!

The full fixture list is available from the Official Website of the FA Premier League.

The 20 Teams for the 2006/2007 Barclays Premiership Season are as follows:

Most bookmakers again make Chelsea favourites to win the League for a THIRD season in a row, but Arsenal and Manchester United are not far behind!

Betting on a game or your favourite team is easy*. If you want to have a bet on the FA Premier League, feel free to click on one of our sponsors' banners on this page. Otherwise, go to paulaura.com's bookies page for a wider choice of online bookmakers and sportsbooks.

*remember to bet sensibly – only bet what you can afford to lose

KEY DATES – 2006/2007 FA Premier League/Barclays Premiership:

• August 13, 2006 (Sunday, 15:00 BST) – FA Community Shield, Chelsea v Liverpool, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
• August 19/20 2006 (Saturday/Sunday) – 2006/07 FA Premier League Season kicks off
• September 16, 2006 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup 1st Round Qualifying
• September 30, 2006 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup 2nd Round Qualifying
• October 14, 2006 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup 3rd Round Qualifying
• October 28, 2006 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup 4th Round Qualifying
• November 11, 2006 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup 1st Round Proper
• December 2, 2006 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup 2nd Round Proper
• January 6, 2007 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup 3rd Round Proper
• January 27, 2007 (Saturday) – 2006/076 FA Cup 4th Round Proper
• February 17, 2007 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup 5th Round Proper
• March 10, 2007 (Saturday) – 2006/076 FA Cup 6th Round Proper (the Quarter-Finals)
• April 14, 2007 (Saturday) – 2006/07 FA Cup Semi-Finals
• May 13, 2007 (Sunday) – Final Day of the 2006/2007 FA Premier League Season
• May 19, 2007 (Saturday – Kickoff: 15:00 BST) – 2006/2007 The FA Cup (sponsored by e.on) Final: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales (We're all waiting to see if the 'NEW' Wembley Stadium, London, England will be ready in time to host the FA Cup Final.)

The 20 Clubs: Nicknames and Home Grounds

• Arsenal -- 'Gunners' -- Emirates Stadium
• Aston Villa --'The Villans' -- Villa Park
• Blackburn Rovers -- 'Rovers' -- Ewood Park
• Bolton Wanderers -- 'The Trotters' -- Reebok Stadium
• Charlton Athletics -- 'Addicks' -- The Valley
• Chelsea -- 'The Blues' -- Stamford Bridge
• Everton -- 'The Toffees' -- Goodison Park
• Fulham -- 'Cottagers' -- Craven Cottage
• Liverpool -- 'Reds' or 'Pool' -- Anfield
• Manchester City -- 'Blues' -- City of Manchester Stadium (Eastfields)
• Manchester United -- 'Red Devils' -- Old Trafford
• Middlesbrough -- 'Boro' -- Riverside Stadium
• Newcastle United -- 'Magpies' -- St James' Park
• Portsmouth -- 'Pompey' -- Fratton Park
• Reading -- 'The Royals' -- Madejski Stadium
• Sheffield United -- 'The Blades' -- Bramall Lane
• Tottenham Hotspur -- 'Spurs' -- White Hart Lane
• Watford -- 'The Hornets' -- Vicarage Road
• West Ham United -- 'The Hammers' -- Upton Park
• Wigan Athletic -- 'Latics' -- JJB Stadium

[Back to Top]

[Back to Top]

Barclaycard Premiership Season 2005/2006

Man Utd Go Close as Chelsea Win Premier League Title (Again) in Convincing Style

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea consolidated their position as the new force in English football with a second successive Premiership title in 2005/06. Thanks to a consistently high performance throughout the season, they were safe from late rallies by both Manchester United and Liverpool, both of whom had suffered from indifferent starts to the season.

Liverpool took the FA Cup, while Manchester United had to be satisfied with the Carling Cup, saving face in an indifferent season which saw them totally eliminated from Europe before Christmas.

Arsenal were the main standard bearers for the English game in the Champions League. While previous seasons had seen them unable to reproduce their outstanding Premiership form in Europe, the opposite was true this year. Their luck ran out in the final, with the early dismissal of Jens Lehmann forcing them to play most of the game against Barcelona with ten men.

The Gunners only secured a Champions League berth for their debut season at the Emirates Stadium on the last day of the season, when their bitter North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, lost out on fourth place, hindered by a bout of alleged food poisoning from a pre-match pasta dish.

The main trend of the 2005/06 season was the continued dominance of clubs from London and Lancashire. Newcastle had another disappointing season, though not as disastrous as Sunderland. The Midlands saw two clubs drop out of the Premiership, with only Aston Villa remaining. Wigan and West Ham, who had been promoted with Sunderland, both had outstanding seasons.

For details of the 2005/2006 Barclays Premiership Season, check out last season's Premier League page.

[Back to Top]