Premier League 2 fixtures: Man City begin title defence at Chelsea

See the fixtures for the new PL2 season as champions face a challenging opening match

The fixtures for the 2025/26 Premier League 2 season have been released. PL2 champions Manchester City will begin their title defence with an away match against two-time competition winners Chelsea on Monday 18 August.

Man City's Under-21 side won their fourth Premier League 2 (PL2) title in five seasons when they beat Southampton 2-0 in the 2024/25 playoff final in May, having scored a competition-high 61 goals.

All the fixtures for 2025/26 are available now on our Premier League 2 fixtures page.

There are 29 teams participating in PL2 this season, with Birmingham City, Burnley and Ipswich Town all being added to the 26 who played in the competition in 2024/25.

The competition format is explained here.

Premier League 2 Matchweek 1 fixtures
Friday 15 August

19:00 Arsenal v Fulham
19:00 Aston Villa v Leeds
19:00 Birmingham v Stoke
19:00 Ipswich v Derby
19:00 Norwich v Reading

Sunday 17 August

15:00 Newcastle v Southampton
16:00 Brighton v West Brom

Monday 18 August

19:00 Burnley v Wolves
19:00 Chelsea v Man City
19:00 Everton v Blackburn
19:00 Leicester v Liverpool
19:00 Middlesborough v Man Utd
19:00 Sunderland v Spurs
19:00 West Ham v Nott'm Forest

2024/25 Premier League 2 roll of honour

Overall champions: Manchester City
Player of the season: Jahmai Simpson-Pusey (Man City)
Top scorer: Divin Mubama (Man City) 17 goals