Ruben Amorim will be running the gauntlet to start his first full season as Manchester United boss. The Premier League released the fixture list for the 2025-26 season on Wednesday, with Amorim’s side set to face 2024-25 runners-up Arsenal on the opening day of the season.
The clash against United’s historic Premier League rivals will be followed by a trip to Fulham, and then a home match against Burnley before the first international break.
Things will not get any easier as the Reds return to action with a Manchester Derby at the Etihad, followed by a home match against Chelsea. That makes three games against teams that finished in last season’s top four in the opening five games of the season. It’s going to be sink or swim for Ruben Amorim coming off his first preseason with the club.
If there is any remorse, both Chelsea and Manchester City are competing at this summer's FIFA Club World Cup, and it’s unknown how that competition may affect them in the early part of next season.
On paper, United have the most difficult opening five games in the league. The names may look daunting, but when you compare the matches to how United fared in the corresponding fixtures last season, this starts to look a lot better.
Of the first five matches United will play, the Reds didn’t lose any of the corresponding fixtures last season. You’ll have to get to matchweek seven to find a match they lost - a trip to Brentford. In fact, over United’s first nine fixtures this season, there’s only one loss from corresponding fixtures last season, with United picking up 15 points in those fixtures.
Considering United lost 18 times in the Premier League last season, that’s as good a start as you can hope for, though it means things are certainly going to get tougher quickly.
We are not naive to think that United will automatically repeat the results of last season. For all the losses that they could turn into wins, it’s certainly possible that some of the positive results against the big sides go the other way if United don’t come out of the gates firing.
The early match against Burnley could be a tougher test than it appears. This version of Burnley has become a pack-it-in-defensively kind of team, conceding just 16 goals in 46 games in the Championship last season. Expect United to have most of the ball and the territory in that match, which is the type of scenario that Amorim’s side struggled the most with last season.
At the same time, Burnley could represent the latest chasm in the difference between the Premier League and the Championship. They may find themselves hopelessly outmatched right when they step on the pitch. We’ll have to wait until they start kicking the ball to actually find out.
December looks to be another daunting month for Amorim. United have lost nine Premier League games in the last two Decembers, and this year will face West Ham, Bournemouth, Newcastle, and Wolves at home while making trips to Aston Villa and Wolves. Of all those fixtures, it was only Aston Villa away where United got a result last season - a drab 0-0 affair under Erik Ten Hag.
The early part of the season may have the big names, but things don’t get any easier as we move into the fall. That’s not exactly unexpected. 14 teams finished above United last year - six teams did the double, with Bournemouth coming within seconds of being a seventh. None of those six teams even finished in the top four. Every match is against a tough opponent.
If United come out of the gates strong and navigate through those opening five matches, there isn’t any respite. Their main rivals may be temporarily out of the way, but they’re still running through a gauntlet every single week. Similarly, if they _don’t_ come out of the gates strong, there isn’t an opportunity to right the ship against softer opponents.
The schedule isn’t going to make or break United’s season. What will determine how United does this season is simply United themselves. If they’ve improved, that’ll show itself in their early-season fixtures against teams that they had trouble with last season. If Amorim doesn’t get improvement out of this team, they’re going to get beaten by 11 or 12 teams again, with some of them doing it twice.
Here’s the full list of Manchester United’s 2025-26 fixtures, which is obviously subject to change as the TV networks start picking and choosing which games they want to televise. We should expect to see an increase in Friday and Monday night matches as Sky will certainly look to take advantage of United having free midweeks.
* **17/08/2025 16:30 Manchester United v Arsenal**
* **23/08/2025 15:00 Fulham v Manchester United**
* **30/08/2025 15:00 Manchester United v Burnley**
* **13/09/2025 15:00 Manchester City v Manchester United**
* **20/09/2025 15:00 Manchester United v Chelsea**
* **27/09/2025 15:00 Brentford v Manchester United**
* **04/10/2025 15:00 Manchester United v Sunderland**
* **18/10/2025 15:00 Liverpool v Manchester United**
* **25/10/2025 15:00 Manchester United v Brighton**
* **01/11/2025 15:00 Nottingham Forest v Manchester United**
* **08/11/2025 15:00 Tottenham v Manchester United**
* **22/11/2025 15:00 Manchester United v Everton**
* **29/11/2025 15:00 Crystal Palace v Manchester United**
* **03/12/2025 20:00 Manchester United v West Ham United**
* **06/12/2025 15:00 Wolves v Manchester United**
* **13/12/2025 15:00 Manchester United v Bournemouth**
* **20/12/2025 15:00 Aston Villa v Manchester United**
* **27/12/2025 15:00 Manchester United v Newcastle United**
* **30/12/2025 20:00 Manchester United v Wolves**
* **03/01/2026 15:00 Leeds United v Manchester United**
* **07/01/2026 20:00 Burnley v Manchester United**
* **17/01/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Manchester City**
* **24/01/2026 15:00 Arsenal v Manchester United**
* **31/01/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Fulham**
* **07/02/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Tottenham**
* **11/02/2026 20:00 West Ham United v Manchester United**
* **21/02/2026 15:00 Everton v Manchester United**
* **28/02/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Crystal Palace**
* **04/03/2026 20:00 Newcastle United v Manchester United**
* **14/03/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Aston Villa**
* **21/03/2026 15:00 Bournemouth v Manchester United**
* **11/04/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Leeds United**
* **18/04/2026 15:00 Chelsea v Manchester United**
* **25/04/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Brentford**
* **02/05/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Liverpool**
* **09/05/2026 15:00 Sunderland v Manchester United**
* **17/05/2026 15:00 Manchester United v Nottingham Forest**
* **24/05/2026 16:00 Brighton v Manchester United**