The Premier League fixtures for 2026/27 have been published this morning.
Our Fixture Ticker is already updated – and it’s a good time to tell you that we’re making a version of this feature available for all users this season:
The Members version has also been updated – and that gives subscribers the chance to input their own fixture difficulty ratings, should they disagree with ours.
The ticker for Chief Scouts also allows them to ‘drag and drop’ teams, extend the lookahead and more.
FIXTURE TICKER OVERVIEW – FIRST SIX GAMEWEEKS
KICK-OFF AT THE EMIRATES
The season will, as has become tradition, get underway on a Friday night.
Reigning champions Arsenal will host newly promoted Coventry City on Friday 21 August, with Gameweek 1 spread over four days:
Friday 21 August 2026
- 20:00 Arsenal v Coventry City
Saturday 22 August 2026
- 12:30 Hull City v Manchester United
- 15:00 Everton v Crystal Palace
- 15:00 Ipswich Town v Sunderland
- 15:00 Nottingham Forest v Leeds United
- 17:30 Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur
Sunday 23 August
- 14:00 Brighton & Hove Albion v Aston Villa
- 14:00 Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth
- 16:30 Newcastle United v Liverpool
Monday 24 August
- 20:00 Fulham v Chelsea
(times in BST)
BAPTISM OF FIRE FOR THE PROMOTED CLUBS
Unlike last season, when Sunderland were given a favourable opening run, it’s straight in at the deep end for Coventry, Hull City and Ipswich Town.
All of them face two sides that qualified for the UEFA Champions League in the first three Gameweeks.
Hull’s tricky run drags on even longer, with away trips to Chelsea and Newcastle United, but Ipswich’s schedule does fair up a bit beyond Gameweek 3.
BRUNO ‘ESSENTIAL’?
We hate the word ‘essential’ but, fitness (and FPL price!) permitting, it’s difficult to see many Fantasy managers not starting with Bruno Fernandes in Gameweek 1.
Manchester United have a dream start, at least on paper, with Hull and Ipswich up first.
Michael Carrick’s side also tops our ticker for the first eight Gameweeks, with the Manchester derby in Gameweek 4 the only real blip on the radar.
NEW MANAGER BOUNCE?
Liverpool and Manchester City also have pretty good first five fixtures before they meet each other in Gameweek 6:
It gives Andoni Iraola and (we think) Enzo Maresca the ideal platform to build from as they take charge of their respective new clubs.
Other clubs to enjoy favourable opening runs, of varying lengths, include the following:
Everton, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur also won’t be playing in Europe in 2026/27, which is a boon from a Fantasy perspective as it alleviates some concern over rotation.
We’ll be having a closer look at the schedule in Frisking the Fixtures.
PERFECT PAIRINGS
As regular as clockwork, Portsmouth Bubblejet has once again given us the perfect home/away rotation pairings for the upcoming season:
INTERNATIONAL BREAK TWEAK
We’re only going to get three international breaks this season, not four.
That’s because the September/October breaks have been combined into one super-long break (three weeks long), with national teams playing up to four fixtures.
The international breaks come after Gameweeks 5, 10 and 30.
FESTIVE FIXTURES
The Gameweeks over the festive period are spaced out much as they were last season, with the busiest period after Boxing Day:
| Start date* | |
|---|---|
| Gameweek 16 | Saturday 19 December |
| Gameweek 17 | Saturday 26 December |
| Gameweek 18 | Wednesday 30 December |
| Gameweek 19 | Saturday 2 January |
| Gameweek 20 | Wednesday 6 January |
*TV rescheduling may bring some of these deadlines forward by a day
The FA Cup third round follows on the weekend after Gameweek 20.
As was the case last season, the festive fixtures are more spaced out to avoid the 48-hour turnarounds we’ve encountered in previous years.
There will again be no winter break this season.
MIDWEEK GAMEWEEKS
Our first midweek round of matches is Gameweek 13, which takes place on December 2-3.
There will be five midweek Gameweeks in all, with two of them happening around New Year (Gameweeks 18 and 20).
NOT AS MANY BLANKS/DOUBLES AGAIN?
As was the case in 2024/25 and 2025/26, there should be relatively few Blank and Double Gameweeks next season.
The FA Cup quarter-finals are again being hosted on their own weekend, so there are no clashes there.
The Blank Gameweeks should be in Gameweek 30 (clashes with the EFL Cup final) and Gameweek 33 (clashes with the FA Cup semi-finals).
As was the case in 2025/26, the FA Cup final clashes with Gameweek 37. The FA Cup finalists still played in Gameweek 37 last season, however, just a few days later. The only fixture that blocks such a rescheduling is the UEFA Europa League final.
There are potential doubles in Gameweeks 32, 35 and 36 as these avoid a clash with European fixtures.
Some inclement weather could always give us an additional blank/double, of course!
