The new Premier League season will kick off at Emirates Stadium with champions Arsenal playing newly promoted Coventry City at 20:00 BST on Friday 21 August, live on Sky Sports.
The opening weekend also sees Hull City host Manchester United for the season’s first Saturday lunchtime game, live on TNT Sports at 12:30. There are three Premier League fixtures kicking off at 15:00: Nottingham Forest will host Leeds United; Crystal Palace will visit Everton; and Ipswich Town will play their first game back in the Premier League against Sunderland.
Saturday will finish with Brentford against Tottenham Hotspur, live on Sky Sports at 17:30.
Then on Sunday 23 August, Manchester City will face AFC Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium, live on Sky Sports at 14:00. Brighton & Hove Albion v Aston Villa will also be live on Sky Sports at 14:00. This is due to Brighton’s participation in the UEFA Conference League qualification play-offs on the preceding Thursday.
Later on Sunday afternoon, at 16:30, it’s Newcastle United v Liverpool live on Sky Sports. And the first Match Round of the season concludes with Fulham v Chelsea on Monday 24 August at 20:00, again live on Sky Sports.
Following an expanded FIFA World Cup featuring 48 teams, the Premier League will start one week later than usual. This will allow for 89 clear days from the end of Season 2025/26, and 33 days from the World Cup Final on 19 July.
Season 2026/27 will consist of 33 weekends and five midweek Match Rounds. The Premier League schedule has been designed to avoid domestic competition clashes with UEFA club competition dates wherever possible.
Over the Christmas and New Year period, clubs will have at least a 60-hour break between fixtures. This is in keeping with commitments made to clubs to address the congested festive schedule within the expanded international calendar. There will also be a fuller schedule of Premier League fixtures on Boxing Day this season.
The season will finish on Sunday 30 May 2027, with all matches kicking off at 16:00.
The Premier League will have nine of its clubs participating in UEFA competitions again this season. While this is a mark of success for the League and its clubs, supporters should be aware of the knock-on effect this will have on the scheduling of Premier League games. We will endeavour to announce fixtures with as much notice as possible, but as we saw last season, there will be changes made at shorter notice than desired if clubs progress into the latter stages of European competitions.
As in previous years, the League provides a guide (see table below) to when Match Rounds are expected to be announced. This is how fixtures are grouped for broadcast selections. The Premier League will continue to communicate any fixture changes at the earliest opportunity, aiming to give supporters at least six weeks’ notice up until the end of the calendar year, and five weeks’ from January until the end of the season.
| Period of matches | MW | Date of estimated release |
| August/September | 2-5 | Week commencing 13 July |
|---|---|---|
| October | 6-9 | w/c 24 August |
| November | 10-12 | w/c 21 September |
| December/January | 13-20 | w/c 19 October |
| January | 21-23 | w/c 30 November |
| February | 24-27 | w/c 21 December |
| March | 28-30 | w/c 18 January |
| April | 31-33 | w/c 22 February |
| April/May | 34 | w/c 22 March |
| May | 35 | w/c 29 March |
| May | 36 | w/c 5 April |
| May | 37 | Post-FA Cup semi-finals* |
Last season marked the beginning of new four-year UK broadcast agreements – with Sky Sports and TNT Sports. Sky Sports will show a minimum of 215 matches and TNT Sports will cover 52 matches. Click here for more information. The UK live audio commentary rights are held by BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT. Click here for more information. A full list of international broadcast partners for Seasons 2025/26-2027/28 can be found here.