The new Premier League season commences this weekend with Arsenal beginning 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, with the Red Devils will travelling to the MKM Stadium to face another promoted side, Hull City.
Here, we present our previews and predictions for all matches of Gameweek 1 of the 2026/27 Premier League season.
The reigning champions have had a decent pre-season and comfortably defeated Manchester City 3–0 in the Community Shield last weekend. Coventry City have also prepared well for their first Premier League campaign in a quarter century, having beaten Ligue 1 side Monaco 2–0 in their last pre-season friendly.
Arsenal have a clear advantage here given their superior squad. They are also playing at home. Frank Lampard’s Coventry City, on the other hand, topped the Championship last season, earning promotion in incredible fashion; they cannot be taken lightly.
As for injuries, Arsenal will miss two key players in defence, with William Saliba and Jurriën Timber out. Coventry City, meanwhile, will miss their star forward Haji Wright, with Jack Rudoni and Frank Onyeka doubtful.
The Gunners are the overwhelming favourites to win this fixture. As for Coventry, without their main forward, they may find it difficult to breach the usually impenetrable Arsenal defence.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2–0 Coventry City
Hull City have returned to the Premier League after a nine-year hiatus by winning the Championship play-off final against Middlesbrough. That said, the Tigers don’t boast a good record against their first league opponents, Man United, having last beaten them in a League Cup game back in 2017.
Hull’s pre-season preparations went just about fine, as they lost one game. As for United, they suffered a humiliating 4–2 defeat to AC Milan in their last pre-season friendly but have otherwise looked in good nick.
Injury-wise, Hull City are already at a disadvantage, with as many as ten of their first-team players already injured or doubtful. Paddy 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, on the other hand, 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 to finish third and qualify for the Champions League. However, their problems in midfield still persist, and they can be vulnerable in defence. As for Hull City, they have massive injury problems ahead of the start of the season, further putting them on the back foot. Given United’s firepower up front, we expect them to win, though they may concede a goal or two.
Score Prediction: Hull City 1–3 Man United
Ipswich Town are back in the Premier League after just one season, coming back up on the back of a second-place finish in the Championship last season. However, Ipswich will be without Kieran McKenna, who left ahead of the start of this season, and will be playing under new head coach Gary O’Neil. As for Sunderland, they did well not just to avoid relegation but also to grab Europa League qualification in sensational fashion last season.
Both teams have done fairly well in the pre-season. Although Sunderland lost two games after beating York City 5–1, they performed well to win the rest of their friendlies. Ipswich, on the other hand, won four of their six friendlies, losing the first two. The Tractor Boys also boast a great head-to-head record against Sunderland, having beaten them in all of their Championship meetings over the past decade, though they never managed to beat the Black Cats when they were both down in the third tier.
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.
This is a tricky game to call, as Ipswich have a decent record against Sunderland and will be playing at home. This could be a tight and cagey encounter that ends in a hard-fought draw.
Score Prediction: Ipswich Town 1–1 Sunderland
While Everton start the new season with David Moyes remaining at the helm, Palace will be playing under a new head coach, Pierre Sage, who has taken over from Oliver Glasner at Selhurst Park.
The Toffees had an underwhelming Premier League campaign last season, failing to qualify for Europe, while Palace won the Conference League, albeit not uprooting many trees in the Premier League. In terms of pre-season preparations, Everton have done reasonably well, losing just two of their seven pre-season friendlies. Palace, meanwhile, have lost their last two friendlies coming into the season and haven’t looked particularly settled under their new coach.
From a player-availability standpoint, Everton could be without new signing Christian Nørgaard, James Garner, and Tim Iroegbunam. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, are expected to only miss Zavier Gozo.
Coming to this match-up, with home advantage on their side, Everton have the upper hand over the Eagles, especially if their superior recent head-to-head record is anything to go by. Further taking the two sides’ recent form into account, we back Moyes and Co to start their campaign on a winning note.
Score Prediction: Everton 2–1 Crystal Palace
Nottingham Forest had a tough campaign last time out and narrowly survived relegation, while Leeds United fared comparatively better and were able to clinch top-flight survival reasonably comfortably.
In pre-season, Leeds just lost one of their six friendlies, while Forest played seven and lost three of them on the bounce. Both teams have reinforced their squads with quality signings.
Looking at injury issues, Forest could be without Nicolò Savona, while Leeds have a long list of players on the sidelines, missing Ilia Gruev, Lucas Perri, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Mateo Joseph, and Wilfried Gnonto.
Forest have a great record against Leeds at the City Ground. This is Oliver Glasner’s first game in charge for the Tricky Trees, and knowing him, Forest will be defensively compact. Leeds, meanwhile, have added firepower up top in the form of Harry Wilson and could trouble the Forest defence. However, we expect a draw to be the likeliest outcome here.
Score Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1–1 Leeds United
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. To avoid having a similar campaign for a third season, the Lilywhites have gone on a massive spending spree this summer, trying to build a top squad to get back their status as a “top six” side.
Brentford had a decent pre-season, scoring 11 goals across their two recorded friendlies against Rennes and Frankfurt. As for Spurs, they too performed well in pre-season, winning four of their five friendlies, with the other one ending in a draw. With several new signings and a relatively new head coach, Spurs are definitely going to be in transition this season. However, we do expect them to perform better than they have in the last two years.
From a player-availability standpoint, the Bees will be without Sepp van den Berg at the back, while Spurs will miss a few key players in Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons, Dominic Solanke, and Wilson Odobert.
Brentford were decent at home last season and could cause problems for Spurs with their long balls and physical approach. This could be a tricky opening game for Roberto De Zerbi’s men, but we believe they have enough firepower to get a positive result.
Score Prediction: Brentford 1–2 Spurs
The Seagulls secured European football for this season with an eighth-place finish last time out. As for Aston Villa, they won the Europa League and also ensured Champions League qualification with a fourth-place finish.
Unai Emery has done a fantastic job at Villa Park, making do on a shoe-string budget compared to his counterparts and still getting the results. Villa have lost a couple of key players this season in Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers, but they have also brought in a couple of decent players. Brighton, meanwhile, could yet lose a couple of key players, with Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh seemingly on their way out.
Both teams have massive injury issues already going into the new season. The Seagulls could be without Pascal Struijk, Matt O’Riley, Kaoru Mitoma, Evan Ferguson, Carlos Baleba, Stefanos Tzimas, and Yankuba Minteh, while Villa also have injuries in the form of Amadou Onana, João Gomes, Johan Manzambi, Brian Madjo, Leon Bailey, and Tammy Abraham.
Villa had a poor pre-season, winning only two of their six friendlies and also losing the Super Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain. Brighton, who won both of their recorded friendlies over Serie A sides Roma and Bologna, have a chance to get all three points in this game. The South Coast team are also playing at home, so we believe the odds are reasonably stacked in their favour for this one.
Score Prediction: Brighton 2–1 Aston Villa
Manchester City ended last season in underwhelming fashion by their high standards, though they won both the League Cup and the FA Cup. With Pep Guardiola having left in the summer alongside a few experienced players, City are another team in transition this season.
As for Bournemouth, they had a superb season last time out, finishing sixth in the table and clinching European football for the first time ever. However, they too begin the new season with a new coach at the helm.
Pre-season went well for both teams, although City come into this game having been beaten comprehensively in the Community Shield by Arsenal after going unbeaten in pre-season. Bournemouth, meanwhile, played three friendlies: winning the first, drawing the second, and losing their last one. Given Man City are still trying to bring in new players and move on those surplus to requirements, it could take time for them to get going this season. The Cherries, meanwhile, have managed to hold on to their star players from last season, though manager Andoni Iraola has moved to Liverpool.
Injury-wise, City will miss Matheus Nunes and Jérémy Doku, while Bournemouth have a long list of absentees: Julián Araujo, Veljko Milosavljevic, Junior Kroupi, Tyler Adams, Amine Adli, and David Brooks are all doubtful for this game, while Ryan Christie is suspended.
Playing at home and with a better squad, Man City will be the overwhelming favourites to win this game. However, Bournemouth have shown time and again that they can’t be taken for granted. That said, with the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Antoine Semenyo up front, City simply have too much quality and should kick things off with a win.
Score Prediction: Man City 2–1 Bournemouth
Newcastle United have lost two key midfield players as well as their head coach coming into this season. With a new coach and a relatively unstable squad, the Magpies may be in for a long season. As for Liverpool, they too have changed their head coach and are still trying to fill the gaps after the departures of the talismanic Mohamed Salah as well as defenders Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté.
Both teams have had mixed results in pre-season. While Newcastle won just one of their six friendlies, Liverpool won only half of their six outings. As for the recent head-to-head record between these two teams, Liverpool hold the edge; Newcastle haven’t beaten them in the Premier League since 2015, though they did come out on top in the League Cup final last year.
Injury-wise, both teams will be affected by the absence of a few key players. Newcastle will be without Joe Willock, Tino Livramento, and Joelinton, while Liverpool will miss Joe Gomez, Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Vitezslav Jaros, and Stefan Bajcetic.
This match-up has always been exciting and full of goals, with both teams giving it a proper go. However, for this outing, we feel Newcastle are comparatively weaker on paper, especially in midfield, and so we back the Reds to come away with all three points from St James’ Park once more.
Score Prediction: Newcastle United 0–2 Liverpool
Both Fulham and Chelsea come into this season under new head coaches. Incidentally, the two young managers were teammates at both Liverpool and Real Madrid in their playing days and have arrived at their respective new jobs on the back of coaching Los Blancos last season.
Pre-season has gone really well for Fulham, who lost none of their friendlies. Chelsea, meanwhile, lost two of their six friendlies, winning three of them.
Fulham have only one major injury concern coming into this game, with Tom Cairney out with a knee injury, while Joachim Andersen is suspended. Chelsea, on the other hand, have a couple of players injured in Aarón Anselmino, Emmanuel Emegha, Mamadou Sarr, Jordan Henderson, and Caleb Wiley, while Wesley Fofana is out suspended.
Fulham won the last time these two teams played at Craven Cottage. Chelsea have shored up their defence since then, having signed Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra, and are looking much stronger at the back. They have strengthened their front line as well and have a much stronger squad on paper than Fulham. However, we believe both teams will need time to settle under a new coach and expect this one to end in a draw.
Score Prediction: Fulham 1–1 Chelsea
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