Premier League 2026/27: Gameweek 1 Preview and Predictions
As the new Premier League season is due to commence this weekend, Arsenal will begin their title defence against newly promoted Coventry City. While Liverpool will travel to St James’ Park to face the Magpies, the Cityzens will welcome the Cherries and the Red Devils will travel to the MKM Stadium to face another promoted side, Hull City.
Let’s take a look at all the preview and predictions from Gameweek 1 of the Premier League –
Arsenal vs Coventry City
The defending champions have had a decent pre-season and comfortably defeated Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield fixture. Coventry City also prepared well for the new Premier League campaign by defeating AS Monaco 2-0 in their last pre-season friendly. They won all their pre-season fixtures which would give them a confidence boost going into the new season.
As both teams go into the first league game, Arsenal would have the advantage of a superior squad and they are also playing at home. Frank Lampard’s Coventry City topped the Championship in the 2025/26 season, thus getting promoted for the Premier League in incredible fashion and cannot be taken lightly.
As for injuries, Arsenal will miss two key players in defence with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber out. Coventry City will miss their star forward Haji Wright along with Jack Rudoni and Frank Onyeka who are both doubtful.
Arsenal is the overwhelming favourite going into this fixture and this being a home game, they should win it comfortably. As for Coventry, without their key forward, it could be difficult to breach the impenetrable Arsenal defence and hence we believe Arsenal should win the encounter comfortably and open their campaign with a win.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Coventry City
Hull City vs Manchester United
Hull City has returned to the Premier League after a nine-year hiatus by winning the Championship play-off against Middlesbrough.
Hull City doesn’t have a good record against Man United as they haven’t won any Premier League game against the Red Devils in six meetings. Their pre-season preparation went fine as they lost one game and won the rest. As for United, they suffered a humiliating 4-2 defeat to AC Milan in their last pre-season friendly but otherwise they have also prepared well for the season.
Injury-wise, Hull City is already at a disadvantage with 10 players already injured or doubtful. Patrick McNair, Eliot Matazo, Jack Butland, Charlie Hughes, Cody Drameh, Matty Jacob, Darko Gyabi, Hidemasa Morita, Joe Gelhardt and Oscar Zambrano are all on the sidelines. United also have a couple of key players out with Karl Darlow, Tom Heaton, Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte, Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko all doubtful for this game.
United performed really well in the second half of last season and qualified for the Champions League. However, their problems in midfield still persist and can be vulnerable in defence. As for Hull City, they have massive injury problems at the start of the season and hence this looks like a game where they are already on the backfoot. Moreover, United has the firepower upfront to trouble them and hence should win this one albeit they can concede a goal.
Score Prediction: Hull City 1-3 Manchester United
Ipswich Town vs Sunderland
Ipswich Town is back in the Premier League after the 2024/25 season. They earned promotion after finishing second in the Championship last season. Although Ipswich will be without Kieran McKenna who departed the club after getting them promoted and will be playing under new head-coach Gary O’Neil. As for Sunderland, they did well not just to avoid relegation but also earned UEFA Europa League qualification for this season.
Both teams have done fairly well in the pre-season. Although Sunderland lost two initial games, they performed well to win the rest of their friendlies. Ipswich on the other hand won all their pre-season games barring one. Ipswich also has a really great head-to-head record against Sunderland, having beaten them in all of their Championship meetings.
Injury-wise, Ipswich could miss Azor Matusiwa for this game with a muscle injury while Sunderland could miss Thomas Meunier, Omar Alderete and Nordi Mukiele for this game.
This is a tricky game to call as Ipswich have a decent record against Sunderland and will be playing at home. We believe this would be a tight and cagey encounter that could end in a hard-fought draw.
Score Prediction: Ipswich Town 1-1 Sunderland
Everton vs Crystal Palace
Everton will be playing this Premier League campaign under David Moyes while Palace will be playing under new head-coach Pierre Sage who has succeeded outgoing manager Oliver Glasner.
The Toffees had a poor Premier League campaign last season, failing to qualify for any European competition. While Palace won the UEFA Conference League final, they didn’t perform particularly well in the league. However, they will participate in the Europa League this season. While Everton has prepared well in pre-season, having won two, lost two and drawn one game, Palace has lost their last two friendlies going into the season and haven’t looked settled yet under the new head-coach.
From an injury-viewpoint, Everton could be without new signing Christian Norgaard, James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam. Crystal Palace would only be without Zavier Gozo.
Coming to this particular fixture, Everton has the upper hand over the Eagles with a stronger head-to-head record and also have home advantage. Looking at their current form, we believe Everton would open their campaign with a close win.
Score Prediction: Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace
Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United
Nottingham Forest had a tough campaign and narrowly survived relegation last season while Leeds United was comparatively in a better position and were able to sustain Premier League survival.
Both teams played friendlies during pre-season with Forest losing three games and winning their last two. Leeds on the other hand, went unbeaten in pre-season, winning four and drawing one. Both teams have also reinforced their squads with quality signings.
Looking at injury issues, Forest could only miss Nicolo Savona while Leeds has a long list of injured players. Ilia Gruev, Lucas Perri, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Mateo Joseph and Wilfried Gnonto could all be on the sidelines for this opening fixture.
Forest has a great record at home against Leeds, having been unbeaten in their last 14 meetings at the Forest ground. This is Oliver Glasner’s first game in charge for the Tricky Trees and knowing him, Forest will be defensively compact. Leeds has added firepower up front in the form of Harry Wilson and could trouble the Forest defence. However, we feel this could end in a draw.
Score Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leeds United
Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur
Brentford narrowly missed out on a European spot last season, having played really well and getting results against some top sides at home. As for Spurs, they endured another torrid season, narrowly escaping relegation. Hence, the Lilywhites have gone on a spending spree this summer, trying to build a top squad to get back to their status in the traditional ‘Top 6’.
Brentford had a decent pre-season outing, scoring 11 goals in their last two encounters. As for Spurs, they two performed well in their pre-season friendlies, winning all their games barring one which ended in a draw. With several new signings and a relatively new head-coach, Spurs is definitely going to be in a transitional phase this season. However, we do expect them to perform better than the previous seasons.
From a player’s availability standpoint, Brentford will be without Sepp van den Berg in the backline while Spurs will miss a few key players in Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons, Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert.
Brentford had a decent performance at home last season and could cause problems for Spurs with their long ball and physical approach. This could be a tricky opening game for Spurs but we believe they do have enough firepower to get a positive result.
Score Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Spurs
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Aston Villa
The Seagulls ensured a European spot last season, finishing in eighth place and qualifying for the UEFA Conference League this season. As for Aston Villa, they won the Europa League and also ensured Champions League qualification, finishing in fourth spot in the league.
Unai Emery has done a fantastic job with the Villans, managing on a shoe-string budget and still getting his team to perform so well. Villa has also lost a couple of key players this season in Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers. However, they have brought in a couple of decent signings too. Brighton could also see a couple of key players go elsewhere with transfer talks going on around Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh.
Both teams have massive injury issues already at the start of the season. Brighton could miss about 7-8 players with Pascal Struijk, Matt O’Riley, Kaoru Mitoma, Even Ferguson, Carlos Baleba, Stefanos Tzimas and Yankuba Minteh all out on the sidelines. Villa also has a couple of injuries with Amadou Onana, Joao Gomes, Johan Manzambi, Brian Madjo, Leon Bailey and Tammy Abraham all out.
Villa had a poor pre-season, they won only one pre-season game and lost four, we believe that Brighton has a chance to get the three points in this game. The South Coast team are also playing at home and so we believe they can grab the three points and open their new Premier League campaign with a win.
Score Prediction: Brighton 2-1 Aston Villa
Manchester City vs Bournemouth
Manchester City ended last season without major silverware although they won both the domestic cups. With Pep Guardiola departing along with a few experienced players this summer, City is another team that could be in transition this season. As for Bournemouth, the Cherries had a superb season last year as they ended in sixth place, ensuring qualification for their first-ever European competition. However, Bournemouth will go into the new season with a new head-coach as well.
Pre-season has gone well for both teams although City lost the Community Shield match to Arsenal. Bournemouth too lost their last pre-season friendly against Mainz. Man City are still trying to get the new signings in and selling the players surplus to requirements. Hence, it could take time for them to get going this season. Bournemouth have managed to keep hold of their key players until now.
Injury-wise, City will miss Matheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku while Bournemouth has a long list of injuries. Julian Araujo, Veljko Milosavljevic, Junior Kroupi, Tyler Adams, Amine Adli and David Brooks are all doubtful for this game with Ryan Christie being suspended.
Playing at home and with a better squad Man City will be the overwhelming favourites to win this game. However, Bournemouth has shown time and again last season that they can’t be taken for granted. With the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Antoine Semenyo up front, City has too much quality up front and hence we feel they will win a tough opening encounter.
Score Prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth
Newcastle United vs Liverpool
Newcastle United have lost two key midfield players and their head-coach this season. With a new coach and an unstable team, the Geordies could be looking at a long season ahead. As for Liverpool, they too have changed their head coach and are still trying to fill the gaps after the departure of their talisman Mohamed Salah and the loss of Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate.
Both teams have mixed results in the pre-season friendlies with Newcastle losing three out of their five games while Liverpool lost two, drew one and won two. As for the head-to-head record, Liverpool holds the edge, Newcastle haven’t beaten Liverpool in the Premier League home or away since 2015.
Injury-wise, both teams will be affected by the absence of a few key players. Newcastle will be without Joseph Willock, Tino Livramento and Joelinton while Liverpool could miss Joe Gomez, Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Vitezslav Jaros and Stefan Bajcetic.
This match-up has always been super exciting and full of goals with both teams giving it a proper go. However, we do feel that Newcastle is a comparatively weaker side especially in midfield and hence we believe Liverpool could come away with the three points from St James’ Park this time as well.
Score Prediction: Newcastle United 0-2 Liverpool
Fulham vs Chelsea
Both Fulham and Chelsea are going to be playing under a new head-coach this season and incidentally, the two young managers have been teammates at both Liverpool and Real Madrid and also left their position as head-coach at Real Madrid before joining their respective new jobs.
Pre-season has gone really well for Fulham, going unbeaten with three wins and two draws while Chelsea started slowly but did well by the end with two wins and a draw in their last three friendlies.
Fulham has only one injury with Tom Cairney out with a knee injury while Joachim Andersen is suspended. Chelsea has a couple of players injured with Aaron Anselmino, Emmanuel Emegha, Mamadou Sarr, Jordan Henderson and Caleb Wiley out on the sidelines while Wesley Fofana is out suspended.
Fulham won the last game these two teams played at Craven Cottage. Chelsea have shored up their defence with the signings of Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra and look much stronger in the backline. They have strengthened their front line as well and hence have a stronger squad than Fulham. However, we do believe that both teams will take time to settle under a new coach and hence this could end in a cagey encounter, more likely ending in a draw.
Score Prediction: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea
