2025/26 Premier League Fixtures Announced: Top Games and Schedule Highlights
When it comes to soccer, no league is bigger than England’s Premier League. The 2024/25 campaign finally saw the winning streak of Manchester City broken, with Liverpool denying them a fifth title in as many years. Now, with the reigning champions looking just as good, and the chasing pack of City, Arsenal, and Chelsea only getting stronger themselves, we are surely in store for another sensational season, and one that is far tighter than last year.
We still have a couple of months to go before the action properly gets underway, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start preparing. Our team has been digging into the fixture release so that we can break down the biggest games to add to the calendar, which teams have the toughest opening schedule, and when the all-important derbies are.
Once you've added all the relevant dates to your diary, make sure to bookmark the Premier League page here on Livesportsontv.com, which will have up-to-date schedules and broadcast information throughout the season.
Key Dates for the 2025/26 Premier League Season
- June 16th - September 1st, 2025: Summer transfer window
- August 16 - 17th, 2025: 2025/26 Premier League season begins
- December 2025: No matches on Christmas Eve; festive round spacing provides more rest for players
- January 1st - February 2nd, 2026: Winter Transfer Window
- May 24th, 2026: Final day of the 2025/26 Premier League season (all matches at the same time)
Best Early Games from the Premier League Schedule
Matchweek 1: August 15 - 18
- Liverpool – AFC Bournemouth
- Aston Villa – Newcastle United
- Brighton & Hove Albion – Fulham
- Nottingham Forest – Brentford
- Sunderland – West Ham United
- Tottenham Hotspur – Burnley
- Wolverhampton Wanderers – Manchester City
- Chelsea – Crystal Palace
- Manchester United – Arsenal
- Leeds United – Everton
The opening clash of the 2025/26 season is on Friday the 15th of August, giving AFC Bournemouth the unenviable task of taking on the reigning champions, Liverpool, who have only gotten stronger with the signing of Florian Wirtz. Bournemouth should give Liverpool a test, but we expect the champions to win that one, so let’s look at some more intriguing clashes from the first set of games.
Kicking off proceedings on the first Saturday slate of the 2025/26 Premier League season we have Aston Villa and Newcastle, two teams who were battling out for the last Champions League spot in 2024/25. Newcastle got that spot in the end, with Villa falling to 6th. Every point is crucial in the Premier League, and with these two likely to be up there again later in the year, this is a great opportunity for each team to pick up some valuable points.
Manchester United have had a woeful few years, but they still have a huge following around the world, and their historic rivalry with Arsenal means that their clash against each other to close out the action on Sunday will attract plenty of eyes.
Matchweek 2: August 23
- AFC Bournemouth – Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Arsenal – Leeds United
- Brentford – Aston Villa
- Burnley – Sunderland
- Crystal Palace – Nottingham Forest
- Everton – Brighton & Hove Albion
- Fulham – Manchester United
- Manchester City – Tottenham Hotspur
- Newcastle United – Liverpool
- West Ham United – Chelsea
The standout fixtures in the second match week of the 2025/26 Premier League season come on Sunday, with Newcastle trying to stake their claim as title contenders against the reigning champions, Liverpool, before West Ham and Chelsea do battle in one of the many London derbies.
Elsewhere in matchweek 2, we have Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur each having their toughest test of the young season so far, facing off against each other at the Etihad. Man City fans will be eager to see a strong outing here to banish the poor effort in the 2024/25 season.
Matchweek 3: August 30
- Aston Villa – Crystal Palace
- Brighton & Hove Albion – Manchester City
- Chelsea – Fulham
- Leeds United – Newcastle United
- Liverpool – Arsenal
- Manchester United – Burnley
- Nottingham Forest – West Ham United
- Sunderland – Brentford
- Tottenham Hotspur – AFC Bournemouth
- Wolverhampton Wanderers – Everton
One game stands well clear of the rest in the third matchweek of the 2025/26 Premier League season, with Liverpool hosting last year’s runner-up, Arsenal. The Gunners have perfected the art of challenging for the title but ultimately falling just short, but there is no denying they are a very good side, and this will be a great early test for both teams.
Brighton’s clash with Manchester City will also be a good one to watch, with the Seagulls having exceeded expectations last season. Nottingham Forest were another to outplay expectations in 2024/25, so it will be interesting to see how they tackle West Ham United on home turf in this third match week of the season.
Who Has the Toughest Start to the Season: Ranking the Competitors
1. Manchester United
Okay, it is a stretch to call Man Utd contenders, but they still remain one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, and they have a rough opening stretch. They face four top-six clubs from the 2024/25 season throughout the first eight weeks, including Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool. Then, Brentford and Brighton, who were both top 10 finishes, don’t exactly offer much respite.
Key Fixtures:
- MW1: vs Arsenal
- MW2: at Fulham
- MW5: vs Chelsea
- MW6: at Brentford
- MW8: at Liverpool
- MW9: vs Brighton
- MW10: at Nottingham Forest
2. Arsenal
Of all the true contenders in 2025/26, it is Arsenal who have the toughest start to the season. They open up with a fixture against their old rivals Man Utd, before facing the reigning champions Liverpool in Matchweek 3, and Manchester City in Matchweek 5. The Gunners have been consistently near the top of the league over recent years, but it’s going to be hard to get away quickly in 2025/26
Key Fixtures:
- MW1: at Manchester United
- MW3: at Liverpool
- MW5: vs Manchester City
- MW10: at Burnley
3. Chelsea
It is another London-based team who have the third hardest opening to the 2025/26 schedule, in Chelsea. Granted, Crystal Palace and West Ham aren’t exactly the toughest openers, but then Man Utd, Liverpool, and Tottenham between match weeks 5 and 10 make for a tough stretch.
Key Fixtures:
- MW1: vs Crystal Palace
- MW2: at West Ham
- MW3: vs FulhamMW5: at Manchester UnitedMW7: vs Liverpool
- MW10: at Tottenham
4. Liverpool
After an easy enough opener against Bournemouth, Liverpool have tricky matchups in match weeks 2 and 3, against Newcastle and Arsenal. Man Utd are waiting in Week 8, but that is not as tough of a clash as it used to be, and they benefit from being good at home. Overall, the champions should feel pretty happy with their opening schedule.
Key Fixtures:
- MW1: vs Bournemouth
- MW2: at Newcastle
- MW3: vs Arsenal
- MW6: at Crystal Palace
- MW8: vs Manchester United
- MW9: at Brentford
5. Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s men have the easiest opening schedule of all our primary contenders, with Arsenal being the only top 5 team on deck. After a one-year hiatus, perhaps this soft opening schedule can springboard Man City’s run back to the top.
Key Fixtures:
- MW1: at Wolves
- MW2: vs Tottenham
- MW3: at Brighton
- MW5: at Arsenal
- MW6: vs Burnley
- MW9: at Aston Villa
2025/26 Premier League Season Highlights
Having already dedicated a lot of attention to the opening part of the 2025/26 Premier League schedule, let’s now turn our attention to the biggest games to look out for throughout the remainder.
Liverpool’s clashes against Arsenal and Manchester City, who are assumed to be their closest competitors, are going to be very eagerly anticipated. The second of these, and therefore the ones with the most on the line, take place on the 7th of January and 7th of February, respectively.
On the derby front, the two Manchester teams will go to battle at the Etihad on the 13th of September, and at Old Trafford on January 17th. If it is the Merseyside derby that really gets you hyped up, then you’ll want to plug the 20th of September and the 18th of April into your calendar. Over in London, Arsenal and Tottenham will do battle in the North London derby on the 22nd of November and the 21st of February, and it will be Chelsea’s turn to take on the Gunners on the 29th of November and 28th of February.
For teams who have just joined the big leagues, their clashes with the top teams are a good benchmarking moment. Sunderland welcome Arsenal to their home stadium on November 8th, whereas Burnley get a very early test against the Champions, Liverpool, on September 13th. Meanwhile, Leeds have to visit Arsenal for their second game of the season, which is going to be tricky.
If you ever find yourself wondering how to watch any of your favorite team’s games, make sure to visit the Live Sport on TV Premier League page, where you will find the up-to-date Premier League TV schedule and corresponding broadcast information.
Written by: Venuse, Inc. (Sports Content Creator)
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