We take another big step towards the 2025/26 Premier League campaign this weekend with the start of the pre-season friendlies.
There are five friendlies taking place across Saturday and Sunday involving the first teams of Premier League clubs.
And here they are:
| Match | Date | Kick-off time (BST) |
|---|---|---|
| Brighton and Hove Albion v Wycombe Wanderers | Saturday 12 July | n/a |
| Burnley v Fleetwood Town | Saturday 12 July | n/a |
| Newcastle United v Carlisle United | Saturday 12 July | n/a |
| Crystal Palace v Millwall | Saturday 12 July | 12pm |
| Chesterfield v Nottingham Forest | Saturday 12 July | 2pm |
| South Shields v Sunderland | Saturday 12 July | 4pm |
| Preston North End v Liverpool | Sunday 13 July | 3pm |
Times come from each club’s official website
We’ll keep our eyes peeled for any others, too. In the past, some top-flight clubs have kept the details of their opening warm-up matches – typically of the behind-closed-doors variety – quiet.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

We may get our first glimpse of some of Liverpool’s new signings this weekend, with Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong potentially in line for debuts.
All of them reported for training earlier this week.
Wirtz’s positioning will be something to monitor: will he be operating as an 8/10 or off the left flank?
One new signing we’ll definitely be seeing today is Crystal Palace’s Borna Sosa. He’s been named in the starting XI for the Eagles’ midday encounter against Millwall.
Brought in to provide competition for Tyrick Mitchell at left wing-back, both players are actually in the same side this afternoon. We assume Mitchell is playing as a left-sided centre-half.
Oliver Glasner has named two different teams for each half in this behind-closed-doors clash.
Sunderland been one of the busiest sides in this transfer window and will have a smattering of new signings on show up the coast at South Shields.
Nottingham Forest’s two captures, Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha, are not expected to be involved on Saturday, however. Both players recently finished their FIFA Club World Cup campaigns with Botafogo.
WHAT’S TO COME ON FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT

We’ll have Scout Notes on those four friendlies to come on Saturday and Sunday.
We will also be launching our Pre-Season Minutes tracker, which documents the game-time, goals and assists of every Premier League player.
Don’t forget to check out our Ultimate Pre-Season Guide, too. There’s lots of content already to read there ahead of the FPL 2025/26 campaign.


