Premier League Opening Weekend: A New Season Begins
by Bradley Gibbs | by Bradley Gibbs
Opening weekend fixtures
The new Premier League campaign starts with the champions, who open the show on Friday night in front of a home crowd. See below for a full breakdown of the opening-weekend fixtures.
2025/26 Premier League game-day one fixtures:
Liverpool vs Bournemouth (Friday, 15:00 EST)
Aston Villa vs Newcastle (Saturday, 07:30 EST)
Brighton vs Fulham (Saturday, 10:00 EST)
Sunderland vs West Ham (Saturday, 10:00 EST)
Tottenham vs Burnley (Saturday, 10:00 EST)
Wolves vs Man City (Saturday, 12:30 EST)
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace (Sunday, 09:00 EST)
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford (Sunday, 09:00 EST)
Man United vs Arsenal (Sunday 11:30 EST)
Leeds United vs Everton (Monday, 15:00 EST)
As we can see, some of the big boys have what you’d call very winnable opening-weekend fixtures, with Liverpool hosting Bournemouth and Tottenham hosting Burnley. However, there are some tough-to-call games too, with Man United and Arsenal clashing in a heavyweight encounter at Old Trafford.
Does recent opening-weekend history favour the newbies?
On the face of it, for at least two of the three promoted teams, the fixture list has been fairly kind. Sunderland face West Ham in front of a home crowd, and let’s face it, the Black Cats could easily have been handed a tougher task, while Leeds United fans will likely be quietly optimistic ahead of their first assignment too. The Whites take on Everton, also in front of a home crowd.
For Burnley, it’s a slightly different story. First time out, the Clarets are tasked with going to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where they’ll take on the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League champions. As far as the newly promoted bunch are concerned, Scott Parker’s men have definitely drawn the short straw.
How about recent history, though? What does that tell us about newly promoted teams during the opening weekend of the season? Let’s take a look.
Below is the ten-year record for newly promoted teams on the opening weekend of the Premier League season:
2024 - 1 Tie, 2 Losses
2023 - 3 Losses
2022 - 1 Win, 1 Tie, 1 Loss
2021 - 2 Wins, 1 Loss
2020 - 3 Losses
2019 - 1 Tie, 2 Losses
2018 - 1 Tie, 2 Losses
2017 - 1 Win, 2 Losses
2016 - 1 Win, 1 Tie, 1 Loss
2015 - 1 Tie, 2 Losses
As we can see, newly promoted teams have a less than impressive opening-weekend record, that’s for sure. Over the last ten seasons, we’ve seen a total of 30 fixtures involving newly promoted teams. Those 30 matches have produced just five wins for the teams entering the division on the back of a promotion.
19 of the last 30 newly promoted teams have lost their opening Premier League game, with six tying first time out. On a more positive note, in only two of the last ten seasons did all three promoted teams lose first time out, so there is a very decent chance that at least one of the three newbies avoids defeat.
Watch out for these new signings
There’s been no shortage of business done by Premier League teams during the off season, with lots of newcomers set to make their league debuts this weekend, so much so that it’s difficult to narrow it down, though keep your eyes out for these three summer signings.
Evann Guessand (Aston Villa)
Joining Aston Villa from Nice in France’s Ligue 1 is Evann Guessand, who will likely need to work hard to force himself into the starting XI, but the all-action forward looks very much like an Unai Emery player, so we could see plenty of him during the early weeks, even if it's from the bench.
Guessand netted 12 times in Ligue 1 last season, while he also chipped in with eight assists, proving himself to be much more than just a finisher. Emery demands a lot of his forwards, so the fact that Guessand, who is certainly quick and physical, can create as well as score goals is a big plus. He's definitely one to watch as the new season gets underway this weekend.
Thierno Barry (Everton)
Everton were always likely to bring in a forward this summer, especially with manager David Moyes commenting on Beto’s lack of discipline, and the Toffees have acted as expected, signing Thierno Barry from Villarreal.
There’s always doubt over promising players coming from overseas, with questions such as “will they adapt to the fast paced and the general cut and thrust of the Premier League?” often surfacing, especially with those coming from more possession focused leagues such as LaLiga and Serie A. Everton fans will definitely have doubts over Barry, who thrived in Spain, and those doubts are fair and square, but the French forward may just have the physicality to adapt to EPL life.
Fast and far from afraid to be direct, the 22-year-old, who scored 11 goals and produced four assists in 35 appearances for a team that finished fifth in LaLiga last season, will be expected to come up with the goods right from the word go having commanded a transfer fee of 30 million euros, and that means the pressure is on, but the Toffees have quite a friendly early run of fixtures, so don’t be surprised if Barry hits the ground running and builds on the promise of his one and only season in Spain.
Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest)
The departure of Anthony Elanga, who has joined Newcastle, was a big blow for Nottingham Forest, but the Tricky Trees may just have found the perfect replacement in Dan Ndoye.
Not quite a carbon copy of Elanga, who is probably a more accurate crosser, Ndoye brings much of the same qualities as the outgoing Swede. He’s super speedy, he’s strong, he’s direct and he’ll be more than happy to get up and down the pitch out wide. Oh, and he’s coming off the back of a career-best season in terms of goals and assists, providing 12 direct goal contributions for Bologna in Serie A last term.
Anyone who watched a large chunk of Euro 2024 will know how valuable Ndoye was to a Swiss team that did very well. This hard-working, super athletic and highly functional winger seemingly has everything needed to slot nicely into Nuno Espirito Santo’s system, making him a player to keep tabs on.
