There's still just under two months until the 2025/26 Premier League campaign gets underway, but the fixture list is set to be released with all 380 matches mapped out
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07:00, 17 Jun 2025
A detailed view of the Premier League trophy, dressed in red ribbons, prior to the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Crystal Palace FC at Anfield on May 25, 2025 in Liverpool, England
The Premier League fixture list will be released at 9am on Wednesday, June 18
(Image: Getty Images)
The Premier League will confirm the official fixture list for the 2025/26 campaign on Wednesday. While the 2024/25 season feels like it only just ended, all 20 sides will soon learn who they will be playing and when.
Liverpool dominated the Premier League, finishing 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal. Things were also far from close at the bottom of the table, as Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City returned to the Championship.
Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds United will be taking their places, hoping to put up a better fight than their predecessors. How their fixtures fall will soon become apparent.
When the list is released, fans can be left furious by what they feel is an unfair start or end to the campaign. But it's far from a straightforward process so ahead of the release, Mirror Football walks you through how it is created, including three unbreakable rules that impact every club.
Officials from the Premier League claim the creation of the fixture list takes up to six months. It is put together by French IT company Atos, who are based just outside of Paris.
A wide variety of factors have to be taken into account before the list is created. A litany of information that implicates the order of matches is inputted into their system, which then generates the list of matches.
For example, it needs to take into account dates of international matches as well as those of Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League clashes. It also needs to consider the scheduling of matches in the lower leagues.
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot celebrates with the Premier League trophy at the end of the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on May 25, 2025. Liverpool equalises 1 - 1 against Crystal Palace
Liverpool won their 20th Premier League title this season
Moreover, policing capacity and geographical proximity of teams are also considered to make sure public safety resources are not spread too thin. For example, Liverpool and Everton are not allowed to play at home on the same weekend, due to the intense strain it would put on police resources. The same would also apply to Manchester United and Manchester City, but the rules are relaxed when it comes to London teams, due to the large number of clubs in the capital.
Individual sides are also allowed to make special fixture requests when there is the potential of a stadium clash. For example, on October 11, Old Trafford will be playing host to the Super League Grand Final, so United will likely have asked to play away on that weekend.
Furthermore, as well as considering all of the above, there are also three strict rules for fixture scheduling. Firstly, over the course of a period of five matches, a team must play two matches at home and three away or vice versa.
Ethan Ampadu of Leeds United lifts the Sky Bet Championship trophy, after the teams 2-1 victory, which confirmed that the team has won the Sky Bet Championship and promotion to the Premier League following the Sky Bet Championship match between Plymouth Argyle FC and Leeds United FC at Home Park on May 03, 2025 in Plymouth, England
Promoted clubs like Leeds United will be hoping to make a better fist of the race to survival than their predecessors
Secondly, a club is not allowed to begin or end the season with two home or two away matches. In the 2023/24 campaign, Luton Town had to start their campaign with two consecutive away matches as Kenilworth Road was still undergoing refurbishments to make the ground Premier League compliant.
Thirdly, over the course of the Boxing Day and New Year's Day fixtures, a team is not allowed to play at home or away twice. Once all of the background information has been inputted, clubs are placed into a pairing grid, defining when they will be competing at home or away.
The system will then randomly generate sets of fixtures. These are then manually verified by staff at Atos, as well as officials at the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL).
If an issue arises, the process is repeated, thus generating a new set of fixtures. This will be repeated and repeated until one fixture list is deemed to satisfy all requirements and rules.
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