English Premier League 2026/27 Schedule Confirmed as Arsenal Face Coventry in Opening Fixture

The 2026/27 Premier League season will kick off with reigning champions Arsenal facing newly-promoted Coventry City on Friday, August 21, in a match broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Mikel Arteta's side, celebrating their first league title in 22 years, will begin their defence at the Emirates Stadium with an 8 pm kick-off against Frank Lampard's Championship winners.

The Gunners' challenging start continues with an away trip to Aston Villa followed by a home clash against Xabi Alonso's Chelsea.

The opening weekend will feature six live matches on Sky Sports, including Andoni Iraola's first competitive game as Liverpool manager.

His team travels to St James' Park to face Newcastle United on Sunday, August 23. Liverpool's early-season schedule is demanding, with clashes against Manchester City and Arsenal in October, followed by back-to-back derbies against Manchester United and Everton in November.

Other standout fixtures on the opening weekend include two London derbies: Brentford will host Tottenham on Saturday, August 22, while Fulham take on Chelsea on Monday, August 24.

Manchester City, entering a new era without Pep Guardiola, will start their campaign at home against Bournemouth on Sunday, August 23. Notably, their first five encounters with last season's top-five teams are all away from home.

Championship play-off winners Hull City mark their return to the top flight by welcoming Manchester United to the MKM Stadium for the early kick-off on Saturday, August 22. Fellow promoted side Ipswich Town will begin their season at home against Sunderland.

Tottenham fans, who have endured consecutive 17th-place finishes, will be wary of a difficult run-in. Their final five matches of the season include a trip to Arsenal, home games against Chelsea and Manchester United, and a final-day fixture at Aston Villa.

Statistically, Manchester United appear to have the most favourable start as Michael Carrick aims to build on last season's third-place finish.

Their opening six matches include Hull (A), Ipswich (H), Everton (A), Manchester City (H), Fulham (A), and Tottenham (H).

Conversely, Sunderland face the toughest opening fixtures based on last season's league positions. New Bournemouth manager Marco Rose also has a challenging start to navigate, as do Manchester City, Chelsea, and Tottenham.

The Premier League has scheduled a full slate of Boxing Day fixtures and has ensured clubs will have a minimum 60-hour break between matches over the congested Christmas and New Year period. This measure addresses concerns about player welfare amid an expanded international calendar.

The provisional Boxing Day fixture list includes several high-profile matchups:

Aston Villa vs Leeds United

Coventry City vs Chelsea

Crystal Palace vs Arsenal

Everton vs Sunderland

Fulham vs Brighton

Hull City vs Liverpool

Ipswich Town vs Brentford

Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest

Newcastle United vs Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur vs Bournemouth

Arsenal will benefit from a reduced travel schedule during this busy time, with nine consecutive league games taking place in London between late November and early January.

With nine Premier League clubs participating in UEFA competitions, the league has advised that fixture dates and times are subject to change, particularly as teams advance in European tournaments.

"We will endeavour to announce fixtures with as much notice as possible," the Premier League stated, "but as we saw last season, there will be changes made at shorter notice than desired."

The schedule for the 2026/27 Premier League season has been announced, with the campaign set to kick off on Saturday, August 22, a week later than the previous season to accommodate player rest after the 2026 World Cup.

Sky Sports will be the primary broadcaster for domestic club football in the UK and Ireland, showing over 1,500 live matches, including a minimum of 215 Premier League games for the 2026/27 season.

As the first-pick broadcaster each week, Sky Sports will continue to feature multiple games in the 2pm Sunday slot on several weekends.

Subscribers can stream all live matches via the Sky Sports app. For those without a subscription, options include upgrading an existing Sky package or using NOW for flexible, contract-free day or month memberships.