The Premier League returns on Friday, 21 August 2026, and this is one of the most unsettled title races in years. Arsenal defend the crown they finally won in 2025/26, but the summer produced the biggest managerial shake-up the competition has ever seen heading into a single season.

Defending champions: Arsenal

Arsenal enter 2026/27 as reigning champions and bookmakers' favourites at around 6-4 to retain the title. Mikel Arteta, now the league's longest-serving manager, opens the defence at home to newly promoted Coventry City on the opening night.

A record eight new managers

Eight Premier League clubs start the 2026/27 season under a manager who wasn't in the job a year earlier — the most in the competition's history. The headline move: Pep Guardiola has left Manchester City after a decade at the Etihad, with former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca brought in to succeed him. Elsewhere:

• Chelsea — Xabi Alonso takes over, the club's latest appointment in a famously turbulent managerial run under BlueCo ownership.
• Liverpool — Andoni Iraola arrives from Bournemouth to replace the sacked Arne Slot.
• Bournemouth — Marco Rose replaces Iraola.
• Crystal Palace — Pierre Sage takes charge after Palace's Conference League win secured a first-ever European campaign.
• Ipswich Town — Gary O'Neil leads the promoted side after Kieran McKenna's exit.

The title race

Arsenal start as favourites, but Manchester City enter a genuine post-Guardiola era under Maresca, and Liverpool and Chelsea are rebuilding under new management of their own. Crystal Palace, fresh off a European trophy and priced around 11-2, are the season's fashionable outsider pick. Expect an open, unpredictable table race rather than a coronation.

Manchester City's post-Guardiola era

Guardiola's decade at the Etihad delivered six Premier League titles and a first Champions League, making his departure the single biggest managerial story of the summer regardless of who replaced him. City's choice of Enzo Maresca is a statement in itself: Maresca had just made Chelsea FIFA Club World Cup champions and won the UEFA Europa Conference League before his own exit, and City are betting his methodical, possession-first approach can bridge the gap between the Guardiola era and whatever comes next.

A record-breaking transfer window

The managerial upheaval has been matched by spending. Manchester City and Chelsea have both broken their own all-time transfer records this summer, part of a window that has already produced several individual deals worth more than €100 million — a reminder that the financial gap between the traditional "Big Six" and the rest keeps widening even as the dugouts reshuffle.

Promoted clubs

Three sides are back in the top flight: Coventry City (after 25 years away), Ipswich Town, and Hull City (after nine years). They replace relegated West Ham United, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers. All three promoted sides also start the season with new managers, adding to the record eight.

Key dates

Event	Date
Season starts	Friday 21 August 2026
Summer transfer window closes	Tuesday 1 September 2026
Final day	Sunday 30 May 2027

For the full opening-weekend fixture list and every derby date, see our Premier League 2026/27 fixtures and key dates guide — then catch every goal from the season in our Premier League highlights.

For the official fixture list, see the Premier League's own release.

FAQ

When does the Premier League 2026/27 season start?

Friday, 21 August 2026, with champions Arsenal hosting newly promoted Coventry City at the Emirates.

Who are the title favourites for 2026/27?

Arsenal are the bookmakers' favourites at around 6-4 to retain the title they won in 2025/26, with Manchester City, Liverpool and outsiders Crystal Palace also in the conversation.

How many Premier League clubs changed manager for 2026/27?

Eight clubs start the season under a manager who wasn't in the role a year earlier — a Premier League record — including Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and all three promoted sides.

Who got promoted to the Premier League for 2026/27?

Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City were promoted, replacing relegated West Ham United, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Who replaced Pep Guardiola at Manchester City?

Enzo Maresca, who joined after leaving Chelsea, where he had won the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Europa Conference League.