Manchester United's season has been decided within 13 weeks

The Premier League fixture list will finally return to 'normal' next term after complications caused by the pandemic and World Cup. In the last few years, the domestic schedule has been interrupted, but the key dates for the 2023/24 Premier League have been confirmed and the campaign will commence on Saturday 12 August 2023, which is the traditional opening weekend.

United began the current season earlier than normal in August just gone - losing 2-0 against Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday 7 August - because of the World Cup, and a return to the normal domestic schedule will be welcomed.

The decision to host the World Cup in Qatar was egregious, mostly because of the country's laws on homosexuality and their workers' rights record, but there were also critics that said a winter tournament made no logistical sense.

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The Premier League season has been forced to start earlier and end later to accommodate the World Cup and, following the death of the Queen in September, which also caused fixtures to be postponed, a gruelling schedule has been created.

After the break for the World Cup, United played Burnley in the last-16 of the Carabao Cup and since then they have played 13 midweeks in a row, which highlights just how many games they've had to play over the last few months.

There are also four more midweeks, at least, to be played after the international break and it's actually possible, depending on how fixtures are arranged, that United play for the remainder of the season without another single free midweek.

Considering the circumstances, it's remarkable that United have not only survived throughout that period, but they have excelled.