The Premier League is set to announce the official fixture list for the 2025/26 season on Wednesday. Despite the 2024/25 season feeling like it just concluded, all 20 teams will soon discover their opponents and match dates, with Liverpool recently confirming its pre-season plans.
Liverpool reigned supreme in the Premier League, as Arne Slot's men finished a solid 10 points ahead of Arsenal who came second. The relegation battle wasn't much of a contest either, with Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City being demoted to the Championship.
Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds United are the new entrants, hoping to put up a sterner challenge than those they're replacing. Their fixture schedule will be revealed on Wednesday/.
Upon the release of the fixture list, supporters often express frustration over what they perceive as an unfair start or end to the season. However, creating the fixture list isn't a simple task.
Premier League officials state that compiling the fixture list takes up to six months. The task is undertaken by French IT firm Atos, located just outside Paris.
Numerous factors must be considered before the fixture list can be finalised. A wealth of information influencing the sequence of matches is fed into their system, which then generates the match list.
For instance, it must factor in dates of international matches as well as those of Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League clashes. It also has to take into account the scheduling of matches in the lower leagues.
In addition, policing capacity and geographical proximity of teams are also taken into consideration to ensure public safety resources are not stretched too thin. For instance, Liverpool and Everton are not permitted to play at home on the same weekend, due to the significant strain it would place on police resources.
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
Leeds has been promoted to the Premier League (Image: Getty Images)
The same rule would also apply to Manchester United and Manchester City, but the rules are more relaxed when it comes to London teams, given the large number of clubs in the capital.
Individual teams are also allowed to make special fixture requests when there is a potential stadium clash. For instance, on October 11, Old Trafford will be hosting the Super League Grand Final, so United will likely have requested to play away that weekend.
Moreover, along with considering all of the above, there are also three strict rules for fixture scheduling. Firstly, over a span of five matches, a team must play two matches at home and three away or vice versa.
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)
Secondly, a club is not permitted to start or finish the season with two home or two away matches. In the 2023/24 season, Luton Town had to kick off their campaign with two consecutive away matches as Kenilworth Road was still under refurbishments to meet Premier League standards.
Thirdly, during 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 entered, clubs are placed into a pairing grid, defining when they will be playing at home or away.
The system then randomly generates sets of fixtures. These are then manually checked by staff at Atos, as well as officials at the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL).
If a problem arises, the process is repeated, thus generating a new set of fixtures. This will be done over and over until one fixture list is deemed to meet all requirements and rules.