Premier League fixtures may not be released until just three weeks before the new season kicks off.
The new campaign, Leeds United 's first back in the big time, is set to begin on September 12 with a short turnaround due to the current season finishing around two months later than billed.
Plans are now underway for next season after the 2019/20 edition concluded on Sunday, but things are expected to move slowly.
A new report by The Sun has suggested fixtures for next season won't be announced until around three weeks from the start of the new campaign.
The report claims the fixtures are expected to be agreed in principle and published on August 21, nine days before the Community Shield on August 30.
Schedule-makers have a difficult task on their hands, unable to plan the new schedule until after the Championship play-offs conclude on August 4.
Then they have the task of fitting the season into a condensed schedule, the late start meaning the usual allocation of 34 weekends is down to 32.
That could make for another pile-up of games - although not as severe as this season - towards the back-end of the campaign or in the opening month with mid-week fixtures unlikely to be played between October and December due to the Champions League and Europa League group stages.
