Coventry City will begin their first Premier League campaign in 25 years with a Friday night trip to champions Arsenal on 21 August, a curtain-raiser that marks the end of a top-flight exile stretching back to 2001. The Sky Blues, who won the Championship last season, face an Arsenal side that ended a 22-year wait for the title under Mikel Arteta.
The opening weekend fixtures, released on 19 June, also see Hull City – promoted via the play-offs – host Manchester United on the Saturday, while Ipswich entertain Sunderland the same day. Andoni Iraola will make his Liverpool debut away at Newcastle on 23 August, and Manchester City begin life without Pep Guardiola at home to Bournemouth. Chelsea, now managed by Xabi Alonso, travel to Fulham on Monday 24 August, with the Cottagers still searching for a new manager after Marco Silva's departure.
“Coventry City face Arsenal on opening night of 2026-27 Premier League season; hair-pulling red card rules relaxed.”
The season starts 34 days after the World Cup final in the United States and ends on 30 May 2027, with the Champions League final six days later. Both dates are later than usual because of the World Cup. The Premier League has confirmed 33 rounds of weekend fixtures, with five midweek rounds, and no two rounds within 60 hours over Christmas. A full Boxing Day schedule returns, with a standout fixture seeing Coventry's manager Frank Lampard visit Chelsea.
Alongside the fixture release, the Premier League announced changes to how referees judge hair pulling, after three players were sent off for the offence in 2025-26. Everton's Michael Keane, Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez and Sunderland's Dan Ballard all saw red following VAR interventions. United boss Michael Carrick called it "one of worst decisions I've seen" after losing an appeal to overturn Martinez's ban. Everton manager David Moyes claimed Keane received a ban for "absolutely nothing".
From next season, referees will look for a "clear and deliberate action" with "excessive force and/or brutality" before showing a red card. Keane would still be dismissed for violent conduct, but Ballard and Stockport County's Josh Dacres-Cogley would likely receive only yellow cards. Martinez's case is considered borderline. The change aims to give latitude for accidental hair contact, while officials will also place greater emphasis on grappling and holding in the penalty area, and a solution to stop goalkeepers' "tactical timeout" is expected.
The nine Premier League teams in European competition include Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool in the Champions League, with Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace in the Europa League, and Brighton in the Conference League.