The Teams With the Toughest Start to the 2025–26 Premier League Season | OneFootball

The full list of fixtures for the 2025–26 Premier League season is here, with fans of all 20 sides frantically scanning the calendar for the flash points of their impending campaigns.

Getting off to a good start is almost vital to any side’s chances of achieving their goals, whether that be a title charge, Champions League qualification or simply avoiding being dragged into a dog fight at the bottom of the standings. Unfortunately, some sides have been hit with some real tests to get their new seasons underway.

Here are seven sides who will not be looking forward to their first run of fixtures.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth will hope to make a splash in the European race. / IMAGO/Pro Sports Images

Kicking off the season against the defending champions is never ideal, let alone on their turf.

After a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on the opening day, Bournemouth land themselves in a bit of a rollercoaster. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur round out August’s fixtures for the Cherries.

September will see games against Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United and Leeds United, meaning we’ll likely know where Bournemouth’s aspirations should lie after their first six games.

Man City

Erling Haaland has demanded improvement from Man City this season. / IMAGO/Every Second Media

Manchester City will taking on three of the so-called ‘Big Six’ in their first six games, meaning Pep Guardiola’s rebuild cannot afford to get off to a slow start.

It’s Wolverhampton Wanderers on opening day, before City will present the first significant test of the Thomas Frank era at Tottenham Hotspur. Brighton are the final side on August’s schedule.

September has the potential to be a gruelling month for City, who play host for the first derby of the season against Manchester United just one week before a seismic clash with perennial rivals Arsenal. It’s too early to call these title-deciders, but Guardiola will not want to be playing catch-up again this time around.

Newcastle

Newcastle will hope for another strong season from Alexander Isak. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

Having established themselves as genuine top-four contenders in recent seasons, Newcastle United will have the chance to flex their credentials early in the 2025–26 campaign.

Fellow hopefuls Aston Villa kick-start the fixture list, with champions Liverpool next up, so Eddie Howe’s side can ill-afford to enter the new campaign at anything less than full strength. Even the newly promoted Leeds United have the potential to cause a headache or two in August’s final fixture.

Wolves and Bournemouth represent beatable opposition, but Newcastle will end September in a battle with Arsenal.

Brentford

Brentford will look vastly different next season. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

Thomas Frank has departed and could be followed by at least one big-name player, but there will be little time for Brentford to settle into a new era as they face a challenging start to the 2025–26 campaign.

The Bees’ first two games come against Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, with both sides vying for Champions League qualification. Sunderland represent somewhat of an intriguing unknown back at this level, but there are no questions about the difficulties on the horizon in September and October.

A west London excursion brings meetings with both Chelsea and Fulham, before Manchester heavyweights United and City are due at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Burnley

Burnley are back in the Premier League. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

Burnley’s welcome back to the Premier League threatens to be a rough one.

A rejuvenated Tottenham Hotspur are waiting on the opening day, before a crucial meeting with fellow newcomers Sunderland. Both sides will know they are fighting each other to try and avoid a relegation battle, so expect a truly heated battle.

Three points there could be crucial for the Clarets as their next four opponents will all fancy their chances of victory. Manchester United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa could easily see Burnley’s miserable start drag over into October.

Manchester United

Man Utd must be prepared for a tough opening run. / IMAGO/Colorsport

Ruben Amorim was given somewhat of a free pass last season—despite what all the criticism directed his way might suggest—but there will be no sympathies for the Manchester United boss if they do not turn things around early this season.

Unfortunately, there will be no soothing start to the 2025–26 campaign, with Arsenal gearing up to open the campaign at Old Trafford. The rest of August does not seem too bad, Fulham and Burnley both winnable games, but September and October looks challenging on paper.

The first Manchester derby, at the Etihad no less, kicks off September, before meetings with Chelsea and Brentford, and there’s even the daunting prospect of a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool coming up in mid-October. If United want to build up a good run of form to start the season, they’re going to have to earn it.

Arsenal

Some tough tests on the horizon for Arteta. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

Perhaps the toughest opening run of fixtures this season belongs to Arsenal, who face four of last season’s top seven in their first six games.

To make things worse, Arsenal start the campaign against a Manchester United side hoping to get back to their brilliant best after an utterly miserable season. Based on last year’s form, Arsenal will fancy their chances, but this is one of those games that could easily go either way.

Newly promoted Leeds United are unlikely to be pushovers, but then the real fun begins. Arsenal round out August with a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool and then begin an unenviable September run against Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle United—three teams all capable of going toe-to-toe with anybody on their day.