2025-26 Premier League Fixture Analysis

As the 2025-26 Premier League season prepares to get underway, here is an analytical look at crucial fixtures for every team across the campaign.

Liverpool head into the new season as title favourites but Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City look to mount a serious challenge.

Aston Villa and Newcastle head those chasing European qualification as Manchester United and Tottenham seek to recover from nightmare league campaigns, and get back within the top-half mix after busy summer transfer windows.

Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland meanwhile will look to stop the recent rot of promoted teams going straight back down to the Championship.

Arsenal

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Man Utd	A	Manchester City	A
Leeds	H	Newcastle	H
Liverpool	A	Fulham	H
Forest	H	West Ham	A
Man City	H	Burnley	H
Newcastle	A	Crystal Palace	A

With a difficult start to the season despite their strong summer transfer business, Arsenal realistically need to target wins at home to give themselves the best shot at the title come May and perhaps try to get four points on the road to boost their prospects as that is a brutal first six games for them.

Should Mikel Arteta’s Gunners find themselves right in the title mix come the run-in, I can already foresee the trip to Man City and Newcastle being key to where in the top three they finish, as I do feel that top three is pretty much guaranteed if can start the season well.

Some sort of European qualification though feels achievable at minimum even if they struggle early on as they should realistically win their final four games on paper, as January looks like their second most critical period after their opening six.

Matchweek	Team	Venue
20	Bournemouth	Away
21	Liverpool	Home
22	Forest	Away
23	Man Utd	Home
24	Leeds	Away

Looking at those five games in January, my gut thought is that only the Leeds trip is winnable because Liverpool and Man Utd at home will be difficult to get maximum points from, whilst trips to Bournemouth and Forest scream banana skin potential to me.

A haul of 6-9 points therefore would be a decent collection for their title challenge in January if they don’t slip up too much elsewhere across the season, largely dependent on a strong start to the campaign though.

 

Aston Villa

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Newcastle	H	Sunderland	H
Brentford	A	Fulham	A
Crystal Palace	H	Newcastle	H
Everton	A	Burnley	A
Sunderland	A	Liverpool	H
Fulham	H	Man City	A

Having missed out on Champions League qualification on goal difference at the end of last season, Villa will be keen to maximise their favourable start because I can see them getting four points from their first three away trips, whilst wins at home to Newcastle and Fulham will be achievable.

Palace though do seem to be Unai Emery’s Achilles heel at Villa with just one win in their last six against the Eagles in all competitions, so that game is difficult to call especially coming off September’s international break.

I however do expect Villa to have another top-half finish this season but their last two games against Liverpool and Man City could define their finishing position this campaign, in terms of whether they qualify for Europe or miss out.

Villa however will have to contend with two tricky runs of three big hitters in succession, starting with away trips to Tottenham and Liverpool sandwiched by a home game against Man City across matchweeks 8-10, not factoring in European games and a possible Carabao Cup tie.

Their second run comes right across the festive period with a home clash against Man Utd then trips to Chelsea and Arsenal across matchweeks 17 – 19 over the space of potentially 10 days depending on TV picks.

Those two blocks eventually could be reflected upon as season-defining depending on their ultimate finishing position come next summer, but Villa should target another solid season even if winning the Europa League might need to become a priority later on.

 

Bournemouth

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Liverpool	A	Newcastle	A
Wolves	H	Leeds	H
Tottenham	A	Crystal Palace	H
Brighton	H	Fulham	A
Newcastle	H	Man City	H
Leeds	A	Forest	A

Although Liverpool is a difficult season-opener for Bournemouth who have undergone a defensive sale and rebuild this summer, I think that they will be glad to get one of their bogey away trips done immediately because the home clash against Wolves and trip to Tottenham are winnable.

I however do think that their home clashes against Brighton and Newcastle could well be a point apiece but the visit to Leeds is another winnable game, so a return of at least five points has to feel realistically achievable for Andoni Iraola’s Cherries in their first six matches.

As nice as it would be to see Bournemouth fight for an European spot again, I do expect them to be comfortably midtable come end of season, with only the home clash against Man City and trips to Newcastle plus Forest looking tricky in their last six games.

Looking at the season as a whole, I can’t see any month being extremely difficult except the late December – early January period, which sees them head to Brentford and Chelsea on 27 plus 30 December before hosting Arsenal and Spurs on 3 and 7 January in the space of 11 days.

All in all, Bournemouth do have a nice solid fixture list so should be comfortably safe if their new signings can settle and the team continue to improve on last season.

 

Brentford

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Forest	A	Fulham	H
Aston Villa	H	Man Utd	A
Sunderland	A	West Ham	H
Chelsea	H	Man City	A
Fulham	A	Crystal Palace	H
Man Utd	H	Liverpool	A

Although Thomas Frank is a huge loss for Brentford, Keith Andrews brings continuity to a team which faces a season of adaption following Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Norgaard’s departures, whilst the Yoane Wissa situation remains unclear.

Forest therefore is a good place for the Bees to start in terms of getting a point on the board given their form there in the last three seasons, before a tricky run as it will be tough to see them getting anything against Villa, Chelsea and Man Utd whilst the Fulham clash could easily go either way.

That leaves Sunderland as their realistic prospect of a win in their opening six games based on the current situation in regard to the squad, otherwise this could be a slow start but I can see the Bees eventually being safe by their last two games.

Their last three away trips however do look pretty horrible because Man Utd hasn’t been a solid hunting ground for the Bees, whilst Man City and Liverpool will likely be at their best at that stage of the season if the title race goes to the wire and involve both teams.

Three London derbies at home in that run of concluding six matches though do feel like their best chances of getting at least one win on the board in what is a fairly difficult run-in, so hopefully they can secure safety beforehand otherwise they could be at risk of getting sucked into the relegation zone.

 

Brighton

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Fulham	H	Tottenham	A
Everton	A	Chelsea	H
Man City	H	Newcastle	A
Bournemouth	A	Wolves	H
Tottenham	H	Leeds	A
Chelsea	A	Man Utd	H

Having enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season after their eighth-placed finish last season, Brighton will feel happy with an opening clash at home to Fulham and trip to Everton’s new stadium as both games do look winnable if they can continue their form.

Their home games against Man City and Tottenham though feel like they could go either way and likewise away at Chelsea depending on their performance on the day, whilst the trip to Bournemouth will be an interesting watch given how closely matched they both look on paper.

Looking at the season as a whole, Brighton should be challenging for the lower European qualification spots again but their run-in does look tough, with trips to Tottenham and Newcastle plus home games against Chelsea and Man Utd standing out so 2-4 points from those games would be a fair return.

That however would be on top of likely wins against Wolves and Leeds so they ideally should try and target 8-10 points across their last six matches, which could be enough for European qualification if can win as many games against teams likely to be below them as possible across the campaign.

 

Burnley

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Tottenham	A	Forest	A
Sunderland	H	Man City	H
Man Utd	A	Leeds	A
Liverpool	H	Aston Villa	H
Forest	H	Arsenal	A
Man City	A	Wolves	H

Having enjoyed a strong promotion campaign, Burnley certainly are getting a rude awakening on the road in their top-flight return because it is hard to see them winning any of their first three away games nor against Liverpool at home.

The clash against Forest feels like it might go either way depending on what form Forest are in after they surprised many last season, but Burnley ideally need to beat Sunderland to given them some confidence otherwise they could be in for another survival scrap this season if get zero points in their first six.

January though looks to be their toughest on paper as I can’t see them beating Man Utd and Tottenham at home either side of trips to Brighton and Liverpool, leaving their visit to Sunderland as a potential season-defining relegation six-pointer.

Nevertheless if Burnley are to stay up, I feel like they absolutely must get as many points as they can against teams expected to be around them or mid-table at best.

 

Chelsea

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Crystal Palace	H	Man Utd	H
West Ham	A	Brighton	A
Fulham	H	Forest	H
Brentford	A	Liverpool	A
Man Utd	A	Tottenham	H
Brighton	H	Sunderland	A

After having snatched a top-four finish on the final day of last season before they went on to win UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup, Chelsea do look a force to be reckoned with if can take that momentum into the new league campaign.

Enzo Maresca though will surely view the Blues’ first four matches as all very winnable ahead of a tricky trip to Man Utd, whilst the home clash against Brighton could be a potential banana skin if they have an off day in matchweek six but at least 10 points has to be the target from those six games.

Should Chelsea be in the title race come the end of March’s international break, they face a season-defining run-in because they face Man City, Man Utd, Forest and Tottenham in their last four home games, amidst tricky visits to Brighton plus Liverpool then a tricky final-day visit to Sunderland.

At this point, Sunderland could well be fighting for survival on the final day if not already down so that game could be quite brutal if both teams need wins at opposite ends of the table to secure survival or title respectively, but Chelsea should target another top-four finish with their squad.

 

Crystal Palace

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Chelsea	A	West Ham	H
Forest	H	Liverpool	A
Aston Villa	A	Bournemouth	A
Sunderland	H	Everton	H
West Ham	A	Brentford	A
Liverpool	H	Arsenal	H

Having spent much of the summer locking horns with UEFA, Palace now need to knuckle down because this early stage of the season is a crucial period to get points on the board, especially if they win their Conference League Play-Offs because they will soon face a juggling act from October onwards.

Chelsea however isn’t the ideal away start but at least Palace are getting that bogey game out of the way first because the trips to Villa and West Ham are both winnable, whilst they should be targeting a win at home against either Forest or Sunderland as Liverpool is a difficult ask to beat.

Depending on how well they handle the task of juggling European and domestic action, Palace should realistically be safe by the run-in as none of their monthly sets of games look too nightmare-ish, so I expect them to target around 6-8 points from their last six games

 

Everton

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Leeds	A	Liverpool	H
Brighton	H	West Ham	A
Wolves	A	Man City	H
Aston Villa	H	Crystal Palace	A
Liverpool	A	Sunderland	H
West Ham	H	Tottenham	A

With just four league defeats since David Moyes returned in January and a solid transfer window, Everton feel bit of an unknown because of the new stadium factor but they should be pleased with their opening six nevertheless.

Within their first six games, I think that the Liverpool clash is their least winnable because they should ideally target at least one win from trips to Leeds and Wolves, whilst their three home games are all winnable if play their best football but a return of four points at least would be decent.

Moyes’ Toffees also have no tricky looking month of fixtures that stick out and likewise for their run-in as apart from home clashes against Liverpool and Man City, I expect them to beat Sunderland and target at least one win in their last three away games.

 

Fulham

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Brighton	A	Brentford	A
Man Utd	H	Aston Villa	H
Chelsea	A	Arsenal	A
Leeds	H	Bournemouth	H
Brentford	H	Wolves	A
Aston Villa	A	Newcastle	H

Coming into this season off a quiet summer, it is difficult to predict how Fulham shape up heading into the season especially going into their opener at Brighton, where both teams have hardly been separated in recent seasons at the AMEX Stadium.

Marco Silva’s Cottagers though should feel confident about their opening six games because aside from Chelsea away, Fulham should be able to target at least 4-6 points as Leeds at home looks winnable whilst the rest can go either way realistically in my opinion.

In fact I can see another mid-table finish for Fulham who should be safe come season’s end, with only the trip to Arsenal in their last six matches looking the most troublesome, whilst their month-by-month fixture lists look solid with no obvious nightmare month sticking out.

 

Leeds

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Everton	H	Wolves	H
Arsenal	A	Bournemouth	A
Newcastle	H	Burnley	H
Fulham	A	Tottenham	A
Wolves	A	Brighton	H
Bournemouth	H	West Ham	A

Having had to bat off rumours about Daniel Farke’s future in the off-season, Leeds have a chance to lay down an on-pitch statement with three difficult opening games but I don’t see them getting anything at Arsenal or against Newcastle, whilst Everton might just have too much quality now that they’ve had squad investment.

Trips to Fulham and Wolves might be realistically where Leeds’ season start after September’s international break given the lack of quality transfer business for both opponents, but that could change in next few weeks although I do think a win and draw would be a fair return from those away days.

Bournemouth should be beatable with a strong home crowd and the Cherries having to gel a new defence together this season, but 3 December – 7 January look like Leeds’ critical month on paper if want to stay up.

Matchweek	Team	Venue
14	Chelsea	Home
15	Liverpool	Home
16	Brentford	Away
17	Palace	Home
18	Sunderland	Away
19	Liverpool	Away
20	Man Utd	Home
21	Newcastle	Away

I don’t see them getting anything from both Liverpool games nor against Chelsea, Man Utd and Newcastle, which leaves trips to Brentford and Sunderland as likely must-win in that period.

My instinct about the home game against Palace is that the result could boil down to how the Eagles approach that game after playing an UEFA Conference League match just days earlier, with that clash certainly shifting to Sunday 21 December.

Either way this season is set to be tough for Leeds unless Farke can right the wrongs of his previous Premier League stints, which both ended in relegation for Norwich, but their run-in is pretty decent for them to snatch two wins at home plus the odd win or point on the road.

Their ultimate survival could boil down to how others perform and whether Leeds act at the right time concerning Farke to give them a chance at staying up.

 

Liverpool

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Bournemouth	H	Everton	A
Newcastle	A	Crystal Palace	H
Arsenal	H	Man Utd	A
Burnley	A	Chelsea	H
Everton	H	Aston Villa	A
Crystal Palace	A	Brentford	H

As title favourites despite their leaky defence, Liverpool should definitely target a top-three slot by the end of their opening six games, unless they lose at Newcastle then home to Arsenal, which look like their two trickiest early matches of the season.

Looking at Liverpool’s month-by-month fixture lists, I can see October being a potential banana skin with trips to Chelsea and Brentford sandwiched by a home game against Man Utd, which might be their hardest block of the games – not withstanding a home clash against Villa on 1 November.

That latter quartet also form Liverpool’s final four opponents of the league campaign with Man Utd and Chelsea back-to-bac again but in reverse, so if they’re to defend their title then they ideally need a sizable gap or wrap it up by the Palace clash at Anfield otherwise it could get tense.

Arne Slot’s Reds though will surely be right up there after their massive summer spending spree but October and May could define their title defence.

 

Manchester City

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Wolves	A	Arsenal	H
Tottenham	H	Burnley	A
Brighton	A	Everton	A
Man Utd	H	Brentford	H
Arsenal	A	Bournemouth	A
Burnley	H	Aston Villa	H

With hopes of a title challenge, City probably need an opening win at Wolves for momentum’s sake because their following four games could go either way depending on performance of both teams, but the home clash against Burnley should be a strong win nevertheless.

A points haul of 6-8 points from their opening six games though would create a strong base to build upon given City’s precedence for finding their consistent flair in late season, which might just be enough if can click because their final five games all look very winnable.

If there is a month where City could slip up assuming their key players stays fit unlike last season then January feels like a solid call, with two potential banana skin home clashes against Chelsea and Brighton, followed by trips to Man Utd and Tottenham sandwiched by a home game against Wolves.

Nevertheless City should hopefully be right there in the title mix but Champions League qualification should be assured by their last two games, barring any dramatic twists and potential points deductions once the verdicts on their 115 charges come out.

 

Manchester United

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Arsenal	H	Chelsea	A
Fulham	A	Brentford	H
Burnley	H	Liverpool	H
Man City	A	Sunderland	A
Chelsea	H	Nottingham Forest	H
Brentford	A	Brighton	A

Following a busy transfer window this summer, Man Utd face a tough early test of their credentials in their opener against Arsenal but depending on that result and if settle quickly, I can see them targeting at least six points from their next five games as can’t sink any lower than last season.

Man Utd this season ideally need to be scrapping for the Europa League spots at best and target the cup competitions to progress from last season, with March looking their hardest month with trips to Newcastle and Bournemouth either side of a home game against Villa.

In the run-in, Utd should target wins over Brentford and Brentford whilst the Chelsea, Liverpool, Forest and Brighton games could go either way depending on form at that point of the season, but I do expect a more decent season as last campaign is the basement benchmark to improve upon.

Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils will also benefit from no European football this season which hopefully will help them reset and play better football that they can deliver.

 

Newcastle

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Aston Villa	A	Bournemouth	H
Liverpool	H	Arsenal	A
Leeds	A	Brighton	H
Wolves	H	Nottingham Forest	A
Bournemouth	A	West Ham	H
Arsenal	H	Fulham	A

Despite their transfer frustrations, Newcastle have a slightly tricky start given their away form at Villa whilst Liverpool and Leeds will be tough games, as will the trip to Bournemouth and home clash against Arsenal so the home tie against Wolves is their best hope of a win in their opening six games.

Breaking down Newcastle’s fixtures on a month-by-month basis, their schedule looks pretty decent with not too many big hitters paired in consecutive matchweeks but March looks their most tricky with a trip to Chelsea sandwiching home games against Man Utd and Sunderland.

Much of Newcastle’s expectation hinges on whether Alexander Isak stays and what transfer business they do but I do expect them to be around the Europa League spots ideally by May, of which the start to that month against Brighton and Forest could determine their eventual finishing position.

 

Nottingham Forest

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Brentford	H	Burnley	H
Crystal Palace	A	Sunderland	A
West Ham	H	Chelsea	A
Arsenal	A	Newcastle	H
Burnley	A	Man Utd	A
Sunderland	H	Bournemouth	H

Last season saw Forest punch above their weight and with Europa League duty to also juggle alongside domestic action now, Forest need to make hay in their first six games because at least 6-8 points is achievable before their Europa League games begin to make an impact in squad rotation.

Forest also have been quite lucky in not landing many big-hitters in their league matches on weekends following Europa League action, with Newcastle (away) and Tottenham (home) looking their toughest games amongst those particular matches.

I however don’t see the Tricky Trees achieving the same heights as they did last season but they should be relatively safe in mid-table by the run-in, so don’t really foresee them struggling at that point but if not then the Burnley and Sunderland games could be crucial in worst-case scenario.

 

Sunderland

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
West Ham	H	Aston Villa	A
Burnley	A	Nottingham Forest	H
Brentford	H	Wolves	A
Crystal Palace	A	Man Utd	H
Aston Villa	H	Everton	A
Nottingham Forest	A	Chelsea	H

Having come up via the play-offs and spent well in terms of reinforcement with signings like Granit Xhaka, Sunderland should be happy to have avoided last season’s top five in their opening six games which should give them a reasonable chance of getting ideally 6-8 points at minimum.

Their run-in though looks much tougher even if Man Utd and Chelsea’s clashes are at home but the Wolves trip could be a six-pointer if the Old Gold too struggle this season, whilst fans will remember one of their great escapes last decade which involved facing Everton in their penultimate game in 2015-16 season.

I however do feel that December will be a brutal month with trips to Liverpool, Man City and Brighton alongside home games against Newcastle, Leeds and City, of which only the Leeds game looks realistically winnable unless the others have an off day.

Either way, I can see Sunderland stuck in a scrap for survival this season as they readjust to the top flight but they realistically need to wrap up survival if possible by the final day, otherwise that Chelsea game could be crucial at both ends if it isn’t a dead rubber.

 

Tottenham

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Burnley	H	Brighton	H
Man City	A	Wolves	A
Bournemouth	H	Aston Villa	A
West Ham	A	Leeds	H
Brighton	A	Chelsea	A
Wolves	H	Everton	H

Now under a new manager in Thomas Frank following Ange Postecoglou’s divisive sacking at the end of last season, Tottenham will be glad by their steady start at home where two wins will likely be expected at minimum across their first three games on their own turf.

Their first three away games however do look difficult because Man City and Brighton won’t be easy places to visit, whilst anything can happen in a London derby which makes the West Ham trip unpredictable, so at least one win would be a decent return.

November however does look do-or-die for Spurs’ campaign as they face Chelsea, Man Utd and Fulham at home in the former month, with a trip to Arsenal sandwiching the latter two home games, which is a difficult task given the investment that those clubs have made.

Matchweeks 24-31 between late January – March however will be the crunch period which will determine Spurs’ eventual fate because only the games against Fulham, Palace and Forest look winnable realistically on current paper.

Matchweek	Opposition	Venue
24	Man City	Home
25	Man Utd	Away
26	Newcastle	Home
27	Arsenal	Home
28	Fulham	Away
29	Crystal Palace	Home
30	Liverpool	Away
31	Nottingham Forest	Home

Depending on how that period unfolds, Spurs could be looking at a mid-table finish but their run-in is favourable aside from the trip to Chelsea, which could well see them hook a late winning run together to potentially achieve European qualification.

 

West Ham

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Sunderland	A	Crystal Palace	A
Chelsea	H	Everton	H
Nottingham Forest	A	Brentford	A
Tottenham	H	Arsenal	H
Crystal Palace	H	Newcastle	A
Everton	A	Leeds	H

Having endured a season of inconsistency, West Ham will be fairly happy with their start because their opener at Sunderland looks pretty winnable, and if they can get the three points there then beat Chelsea at home and win at Forest then they might finally find some consistency.

My instinct though is that it could be another season of inconsistency if can’t replace Mohammed Kudus’ quality following his move to Tottenham, but their run-in is pretty solid so I expect another season of safety even if it is more nervy if the promoted clubs can make a fist of the survival race.

 

Wolves

First Six Fixture		Last Six Fixtures
Opposition	Venue	Opposition	Venue
Man City	H	Leeds	A
Bournemouth	A	Tottenham	H
Everton	H	Sunderland	H
Newcastle	A	Brighton	A
Leeds	H	Fulham	H
Tottenham	A	Burnley	A

Having finished comfortably above the relegation zone come the end of last season, Wolves face an early test of their credentials following Matheus Cunha’s move to Man Utd – as they welcome Man City to Molineux in a tricky opener.

Although that game is winnable at home, if I was a Wolves fans I would target the trip to Bournemouth as where the season truly starts as the rest of of their opening six games can all be won if play well enough so a minimum of five points would be realistic.

Wolves’ festive fixtures look pretty miserable with trips to Liverpool and Man Utd on 27 and 30 December, although the latter could be winnable if Utd continue their downward spiral, but 2026 could start brightly with a nice home clash against West Ham then trip to Everton.

My instinct is that Wolves could be in for a mid-table finish and their closing six fixtures all look fairly favourable with three winnable home games, whilst I fancy them at this point to get wins at Leeds and Burnley but Brighton away will be a tough ask yet likely entertaining.

If there is a single month that looks very difficult for Wolves then December clearly is that month because out of their six league games in that particular month, only the home game against Brentford realistically looks winnable but they should still survive come end of season.