Premier League champions Liverpool will open the 2025/26 Premier League season at home to Bournemouth under the lights. It makes up part of a blockbuster opening weekend that sees Aston Villa host Newcastle and Manchester United welcome Arsenal.
Manchester City, fresh from a summer of big investment, begin their campaign away to Wolves. Whereas Chelsea kick things off against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge and Tottenham welcome newly promoted Burnley.
Fellow Premier League newbies, Sunderland, will play their first top-flight match at the Stadium of Light since 2017 against West Ham United, with Leeds United starting the 2025/26 season at home to Everton. Express Sport details all the key dates and fixtures for the 2025/26 Premier League season below…
Opening weekend:
Liverpool vs A.F.C. Bournemouth (15/08/2025 – 8pm)
Aston Villa vs Newcastle United (16/08/2025 – 12:30pm)
Brighton vs Fulham (16/08/2025 – 3pm)
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford (16/08/2025 – 3pm)
Sunderland vs West Ham United (16/08/2025 – 3pm)
Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley (16/08/2025 – 3pm)
Wolverhampton vs Manchester City (16/08/2025 – 5:30pm)
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace (17/08/2025 – 2pm)
Manchester United vs Arsenal (17/08/2025 – 5:30pm)
Leeds United vs Everton (18/08/2025 – 8pm)
Following their trip to Old Trafford, Arsenal embark on somewhat of a nightmare start to the season, with matches against Leeds United (H), Liverpool (A), Nottingham Forest (H), City (H) and Newcastle United (A) in their next five. The first North London derby of the season comes at the Emirates Stadium in November before the return fixture at Spurs follows in February.
It’s the same situation for Arsenal’s clashes with Chelsea, which come directly after their clashes with rivals Tottenham. While a relatively kind run-in sees Arsenal host Fulham, travel to West Ham, welcome Burnley and finally finish the season away to Crystal Palace. Will one of those final two matches see Mikel Arteta lifting the Premier League trophy?
There’ll be no time for slacking as far as Ruben Amorim is concerned either, as the Red Devils face cross-city rivals City and then Chelsea in back-to-back Old Trafford matches during September. The return Manchester Derby at the Etihad Stadium is pencilled in for mid-January, while clashes against Liverpool are due to come in October at Anfield and then early May at Old Trafford.
All eyes will be on Elland Road for United’s first match of the new year when they visit Leeds, with the Whites set for a Manchester visit in mid-April.
Liverpool are another title hopeful who will have to have their eye on the ball from the off, with Bournemouth, Newcastle (A) and Arsenal (H) making up the Reds’ first three fixtures. What’s more, by the eighth game of the season, they’ll have played both Chelsea (A) and United (H) too, as well as welcoming rivals Everton to Anfield for the first Merseyside derby of the season.
THE FULL 2025/26 PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURE LIST INCLUDING EVERY MATCH IS HERE
Final weekend (all matches 25/05/2026):
Brighton vs Manchester United
Burnley vs Wolves
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
Fulham vs Newcastle United
Liverpool vs Brentford
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth
Sunderland vs Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
West Ham vs Leeds United