The Red Devils and Gunners are among the teams with the toughest starts to the new season, but others have been handed a kinder schedule
Happy Premier League fixture release day to all who celebrate one of the most anticipated dates in the footballing calendar. Just because the 2024-25 campaign has been extended into the Club World Cup doesn't mean we can't look ahead to the new campaign, after all.
At 9am BST on Wednesday morning, we found out the schedule for 2025-26, and there were some pretty standout takeaways in the air. How will Liverpool go about defending their title? What can Arsenal do to snatch it away from them? Will Manchester United ever sort themselves out?
The new season effectively starts here, as GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Premier League fixture release day…
Getty Images SportLOSER: Ruben Amorim
According to , Manchester United have the hardest start to the new Premier League season. You can't even blame Sir Jim Ratcliffe for this latest piece of bad news, either.
There does seem to be some initial respite after welcoming Arsenal for the first Super Sunday of 2025-26, with a trip to Fulham and visit from Burnley coming before the September international break. Once the Red Devils reconvene at Carrington though, they have a gauntlet ahead of them.
United return to action with a crosstown journey to Manchester City, before Chelsea head on up to Old Trafford the following week. Slightly kinder fixtures against Brentford and Sunderland then follow, only to then come across the path of Liverpool at Anfield on matchday eight.
The saving grace for Ruben Amorim, who could well be fearing for his job come the autumn, is his side are not in European competition this season and so should be better off having free midweeks for further training and recovery. That's the hope, anyway.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportWINNER: Chelsea
Late on in 2025-26, Chelsea (and Manchester City for that matter) could very well run out of steam after their exploits at the Club World Cup, which come in lieu of an extended holiday like most of their other rivals this summer. However, the Blues should, theoretically, also head into the season a little sharper and up to speed. If they can build a lead atop the table early doors, there may be no stopping them.
Enzo Maresca's side will take on only one 'big six' side in their opening rounds of fixtures, and that comes with a trip to Manchester United, who infamously finished 15th last year. Chelsea welcome Crystal Palace to Stamford Bridge on the first weekend of the campaign, before facing West Ham, Fulham, Brentford and Brighton before we even get into October.
It's not exactly beyond the realms of possibility that Chelsea accrue 18 points from their first six matches, giving them ample breathing space as they march through another gruelling year on all fronts.
Getty Images SportLOSER: Arsenal
Arsenal's fixture list will prove quite divisive. Fans often immediately look at how their team begins the season and gauge expectation from there. In the case of the Gunners, they could emerge from the first couple of months playing catch-up again.
A blockbuster trip to Manchester United on matchday one shouldn't strike fear into the hearts of Arsenal, but the history of this fixture at Old Trafford suggests the Red Devils remain a bogey team even at their worst. That's not the fixture to get pulses racing, however.
Before the first international break of the season, Arsenal must travel to Anfield to face Liverpool, the very team they are looking to dethrone. By then, the Reds will have several new additions on their books in Jeremie Frimpong, £116m man Florian Wirtz and potentially even further recruits. You'd hope for the Gunners' sake they'd have brought in some new, dynamic forwards to try and exploit the chinks in the champions' armour.
But wait, there's still more! On the other side of the September internationals, Arsenal host Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, then wrap up the month by visiting Newcastle. has their start down as only second to United in terms of difficulty. .
Getty Images SportWINNER: Thomas Frank
There's a unique strangeness about the job Thomas Frank is walking into at Tottenham. He replaces a universally beloved figure in Ange Postecoglou, who was responsible for Spurs' worst-ever Premier League season last time out, losing 22 games and finishing 17th. However, the Australian will be more remembered for delivering on his promise of winning a trophy, with the Europa League coming back to north London from Bilbao in May.
Though the mood at the club was soured by the controversial sacking of Postecoglou, winning cures all footballing ailments, and Frank may be a tad relieved upon reviewing the fixture list. His first Premier League match in charge of Tottenham comes at home to newly-promoted Burnley, though this could be counteracted by facing Manchester City away on matchday two.
But after that clash with City, it will be another seven league games before Spurs run into another 'big six' side, with Chelsea travelling to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the beginning of November. Like Postecoglou, Frank has the opportunity to string some results together to get his project off the ground, while he will not have the to think about the distraction of a Brentford reunion until December.
