Arsenal kicks off their Premier League season with a visit to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United, followed by away matches against Liverpool and Newcastle United, and a home game against Manchester City within their first six fixtures of the 2025-26 season.
Both United and Manchester City, who had a tough time last season, are also having a rough start this year. After their first match against Arsenal, Ruben Amorim is eager to secure points against Fulham and Burnley before taking on City and Chelsea in a challenging start. United will head to Anfield on October 18, with the return match against Liverpool set for Old Trafford on May 2.
In their first five games, Pep Guardiola’s revamped squad, which is competing in the Club World Cup this summer, will play Wolverhampton Wanderers before facing Tottenham Hotspur, United, and Arsenal. On Friday, August 18, at 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET). Premier League champions Liverpool will play AFC Bournemouth at Anfield to begin their title defense.
Following their opener, Liverpool will visit Newcastle and host Arsenal in their first three matches, before welcoming Everton, facing United, and traveling to Chelsea by mid-October.
After the first round of the Champions League, Liverpool will host Everton for the first Merseyside derby of the season, while City will visit Arsenal. Following additional Champions League matches, Arne Slot’s team will travel to Chelsea, Brentford, and City. Arsenal have home games after the initial three rounds of the prestigious European competition.
Thomas Frank will begin his role as Tottenham manager with a home game against newly promoted Burnley, followed by an away match at City in the second fixture. He will face his former team Brentford twice in December, but the series of matches in November looks particularly tough. After finishing October with games against Aston Villa and Everton, Spurs will then take on Chelsea, United, and Arsenal in succession.
Chelsea will kick off their season with four straight matches against London rivals — Crystal Palace, West Ham United, Fulham, and Brentford — but the schedule becomes increasingly challenging towards the end of the season, with Arsenal, Villa, Newcastle, City, United, Liverpool, and Spurs all scheduled from late February.
City will face a difficult period in early 2026, going up against five top teams in eight matches. Their run starting January 3 includes games against Chelsea, Brighton, United, Wolves, Tottenham, Liverpool, Fulham, and Newcastle.
The season is expected to wrap up on May 24. Players will have less than three weeks to prepare for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, which is set to begin on June 11.
