Could Arsenal’s title challenge be derailed by a rough run of fixture in January?
The full list of fixtures for the forthcoming 2026/27 season has finally been released, and all 20 teams now know their fate as they gear up to battle for titles, European placings or simple survival. And for the most part, the schedule gods have been rather even-handed this year.
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Few supporters will look at their opening run of fixtures or their run-in and feel especially hard done-by. The Christmas schedule is busy, of course, but a little more spaced out than usual and generally quite evenly balanced. Not many teams have a specific run of matches that they’ll look at and wince – except for Arsenal.
The brutal run of fixtures which could have a big impact on Arsenal’s season
Will Arsenal be able to win back-to-back Premier League titles?placeholder image
Will Arsenal be able to win back-to-back Premier League titles? | Getty Images
For teams competing towards the business end of the Premier League, finding (or maintaining) form in January is absolutely critical. Not only do the games come hot on the heels of a hectic festive period, when legs get tired and injuries begin to pile up, but they also coincide with the return of Champions League football after its winter break.
If there’s any point in the season at which teams might pray for the fixture list to be gentle with them, it’s January. Clearly, the fixture gods don’t support Arsenal.
The reigning champions do get what may well prove to be a relatively gentle introduction to January, with matches against newly-promoted Ipswich Town and Hull City, but things kick up a gear as soon as they have to worry about rotating for Champions League games as well.
Within days of a league stage match in Europe, Arsenal will welcome a Newcastle side who will be itching to prove that they’re worth rather more than a mid-table finish. Then, right after that, they find themselves paired against the two teams most likely to be battling them for the title next season – Manchester City and Liverpool.
After the Newcastle match, the Gunners will be back in Champions League action before heading up to the Etihad, and then a week later Liverpool are heading down to the Emirates. It’s a tough and potentially consequential string of matches coming at arguably the most tiring, back-breaking stage of the entire campaign.
Overcome that rather tricky challenge, and perhaps Arsenal will be champions again. Struggle, and maybe they’ll be waiting another two decades until they lift the title…
Manchester United & Liverpool among other teams with key runs of games
Andoni Iraola's former side stand in Liverpool's way on the final day of the 2026/27 season.placeholder image
Andoni Iraola's former side stand in Liverpool's way on the final day of the 2026/27 season. | Getty Images
Arsenal aren’t the only team whose chances of making a run at the title could be titled one way or the other by the fixture list – Liverpool may also be moaning, depending on just how difficult their run-in turns out to be.
It’s fair to assume that most teams would prefer to avoid especially difficult matches during May, when the pressure cranks up to maximum – but it’s hard to know just how worried Liverpool might be by the end of the season.
That’s because they face a lot of teams who could either be exceptionally difficult to beat, but aren’t necessarily guaranteed to be among the league’s best. We can safely assume that their away game against Manchester City will be very hard indeed, but there’s a fair amount of guesswork involved in figuring out how hard their other four matches might be come May.
Will a home game against Chelsea see them battling with a top four contender, or will the Blues sink back into the doldrums under Xabi Alonso? Will Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion still be contending for European places, or will they regress next year? Are Brentford still a little bit scary now that Andoni Iraola’s at Anfield?
It’s also worth mentioning Manchester United, because their chances of competing for the title could be improved dramatically by a very gentle run of games at the start of the season.
By average league position, Manchester United have the easiest first five fixtures of any time in the Premier League – their first two games are against newcomers Hull and Ipswich, while September doesn’t look too threatening outside of a Manchester Derby. If United can get off to a strong start, it could make them start to believe that they can maintain a real title challenge for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
A run of wins at the top of the campaign would make United look and feel like they belong there. Could they sustain it? Who knows – but getting off to a flier would make bridging the gap seem an awful lot easier. If the fixture gods cursed Arsenal, then perhaps we now know who was praying to them in the first place.
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