On Friday morning, the Premier League schedule for the 2026/27 season was unveiled—and defending champions Arsenal were handed a manageable task to kick off the season.
The new Premier League season, which will once again feature a total of 380 matches, kicks off on Friday, August 21—one week later than last season: “The reason for this is that, given an increasingly crowded global soccer calendar, player well-being remains a priority for the Premier League,” the league wrote in a statement. The kickoff on August 21 marks an 89-day gap since the end of last season and a 33-day gap since the World Cup final.
The opening match is reserved for defending champions Arsenal, who will begin their title defense with a manageable home game: Coventry City, which has returned to England’s top flight after 25 years, will be the visiting team at the Emirates.
Manchester United will also face a league newcomer: Hull City, which—surprisingly—secured the final spot in the Premier League via the playoffs after finishing sixth in the final standings, will host the Red Devils. How the newcomer starts the season will likely depend on whether Hull actually has points deducted.
Ipswich Town—which, following the resignation of promotion-winning coach Kieran McKenna, is reportedly considering Sandro Wagner as its new coach—is the third promoted team to play in front of its home crowd, facing Sunderland, which on paper is the easiest opponent. ManCity also kicks off at home, taking on AFC Bournemouth, which lost coach Andoni Iraola to Liverpool.
Those very same Reds and their new coach will be the visitors in the season’s first big match on Sunday (August 23) at 5:30 p.m. at Nick Woltemade’s Newcastle United. The first matchday concludes with Chelsea’s away game at Fulham on Monday evening.
The first matchup between champion Arsenal and runner-up Manchester City is scheduled for the weekend of November 28. On the same matchday, Everton and Liverpool will also face off in their derby.
Five midweek matchdays—guidelines for Christmas and New Year’s
The 2026–27 season will feature 33 weekend matchdays and five midweek matchdays. During the Christmas and New Year’s period, the rule stipulates that no two matchdays may take place within 60 hours of each other. “This is in line with the commitments made to the clubs to alleviate the congested schedule over Christmas and New Year’s as part of the expanded international calendar,” the league clarifies.
The final matchday will take place on May 30, 2027—as usual, a Sunday—when all matches will kick off simultaneously. The Premier League will thus conclude one week before the Champions League final, which will be held in Madrid on June 5, 2027.
