The Premier League will be back before you know it. The 2024–25 Premier League season can be accused of many things, but predictability is not one of them.
Liverpool claimed their second-ever Premier League title despite the departure of long-time boss Jürgen Klopp in the summer.
His successor, Arne Slot, made an immediate impact—guiding the Reds through a dominant campaign and making the league look deceptively easy.
Manchester City, by contrast, saw their four-year reign come to an end in disappointing fashion, enduring their poorest season in recent memory.
At the same time, Nottingham Forest—who had narrowly avoided relegation in 2023–24—produced a remarkable turnaround, securing European football for the first time in 30 years.
Down at the other end of the table, things played out more predictably, with all three promoted sides—Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton—dropping straight back to the Championship.
Even so, the dismal nature of their respective campaigns raised eyebrows, with Southampton narrowly avoiding the infamous record for the lowest Premier League points tally—something they were oddly relieved not to “achieve.”
Now that all the dust has settled, the big question is: when does it all start again? Below, we’ve got everything you need to know about the 2025–26 Premier League season, including its start date and all the key moments to look out for during the campaign.
The 2025–26 Premier League season kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025.
This start date provides players with the maximum rest period available—83 clear days—from the conclusion of the previous campaign.
As is customary, the final round of fixtures will be played on Sunday, May 24, 2026, with all matches kicking off at the same time to ensure a dramatic and fair end to the season.
Fans won’t have to wait too long for the buildup to begin, as the full fixture list for the new campaign will be unveiled on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
This announcement will reveal the opening-day matchups, festive period clashes, and all the major derbies to mark on the calendar.
- How Will the 2025–26 Premier League Season Be Structured?
The 2025–26 Premier League campaign will span 33 weekends, supplemented by five midweek rounds.
The schedule has been carefully structured to ensure that no two match rounds occur within 60 hours of each other, providing players with adequate recovery time between fixtures.
This spacing also accommodates international breaks and major tournaments, with no games scheduled during FIFA-sanctioned windows.
The chosen end date ensures the Premier League concludes before the FIFA 2026 World Cup call-up period begins, allowing national teams full access to their players in the lead-up to the tournament.
There will be three official international breaks during the 2025–26 Premier League season.
The first will take place from Oct. 6 –15, 2025, featuring two rounds of international fixtures. Another two games will be played during the second break, scheduled between Nov. 10 and 18.
The final break falls between March 23 and 31, 2026—marking the penultimate international window before the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins on June 11.
While not technically an international break, the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will also run from Dec. 21, 2025, to Jan. 18, 2026.
The Premier League will continue during that period, but clubs with key African players selected to represent their countries will need to navigate their absence—a notoriously challenging time in the calendar.
- Key Dates for the 2025–26 Premier League Season
Here’s a roundup of the key dates for the 2025–26 Premier League season:
|
Event |
Date(s) |
|---|---|
|
Fixtures Released |
June 18, 2025 |
|
Opening Day |
Aug. 16, 2025 |
|
First International Break |
Oct. 6–15, 2025 |
|
Second International Break |
Nov. 10–18, 2025 |
|
Africa Cup of Nations |
Dec. 21, 2025–Jan. 18, 2026 |
|
January Transfer Window |
Jan. 1, 2026–TBC |
|
Third International Break |
March 23–31, 2026 |
|
Final Day |
May 24, 2026 |
- What to Expect From the 2025–26 Premier League Season
There will be plenty to look forward to in the 2025–26 Premier League season, at both ends of the table.
At the top, all eyes will be on whether Manchester City can bounce back from a rare underwhelming campaign and reassert their dominance. Liverpool, under Arne Slot, will look to build on their title-winning momentum and prove that their success wasn’t a one-off.
Chelsea, too, remain a team to watch—can they finally re-establish themselves as genuine title contenders?
At the other end of the table, three new clubs will be battling to stay up. Leeds United and Burnley have already secured promotion, and they’ll be joined by either Sheffield United or Sunderland, who face off in the Championship play-off final.
All three newcomers will be aware of the fate of Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton—and will hope to learn from their mistakes.
Rather than taking the fight to the league’s elite, their focus may be on playing smarter, more pragmatic football.
Elsewhere, expect the summer transfer window to shake things up. Manchester United are heavily linked with a move for Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, while Liverpool are reportedly close to sealing a deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong.
Chelsea, in desperate need of a reliable striker, are said to be weighing up moves for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres.
Perhaps, just perhaps, though, we could be in for even more twists and turns than we saw this year—surprise title charges, shock relegations, breakout stars.
Newcastle United as dark horses? Yoane Wissa for the Golden Boot? Stranger things have happened.