Soccer-Man Utd, Man City to play rescheduled Premier League games in January

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 29, 2020 Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United's Nemanja Matic and Edinson Cavani celebrate after the match Pool via REUTERS/Laurence Griffiths

Manchester United and Manchester City will play their rescheduled fixtures from the opening weekend of the season in January, the Premier League announced on Thursday.

Both Manchester clubs did not play on the opening weekend in September due to their participation in the knockout stages of last season's European club competitions which ended only in August due to the COVID-19 hiatus.

Burnley will host second-placed United on Jan. 12 while City host Aston Villa on Jan. 20.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Newcastle United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - December 26, 2020 Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates Pool via REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff

The fixtures add to a packed schedule for both Manchester clubs who also play each other in the League Cup semi-final on Jan. 6 before they begin their FA Cup campaign the following weekend.

City, eighth in the standings, have two games in hand after Monday's match at Everton was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak at their club.

City's first team have since returned to training after their facilities were closed for two days but the league has yet to reschedule the game against Everton.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)