Key games in the 2025-26 Premier League title race

The 2025/26 Premier League season is fast approaching—and it’s now less than two weeks away.

Liverpool head into the campaign as defending champions, lifting the title for a record-equalling 20th time. They stormed to the top spot last season, finishing ahead of back-to-back runners-up Arsenal with surprising ease.

While many had expected Manchester City to mount a more substantial title challenge, the Reds pulled away decisively and clinched the crown with room to spare.

It’s already been a busy summer at Anfield, even before a competitive ball has been kicked. The reigning champions have been active in the transfer market, and they don’t look done yet. That spending spree has only strengthened their credentials as early favourites to retain the crown.

Barring any surprises, it’s hard to see another side truly rivalling Liverpool for the title. Although forecasts before the transfer window closes are always risky, the Merseyside club are justifiably tipped to retain their Premier League crown—a feat they last achieved during their run of three consecutive league triumphs in the early 1980s.

However, it might not be smooth sailing for Arne Slot’s men. Their rivals have been busy bolstering their squads too.

Arsenal, runners-up for the third consecutive season, are desperate to shake off their ‘nearly-men’ tag. It’s become something of a recurring theme at the Emirates, and Mikel Arteta will hope this summer’s signings can finally push them over the line in pursuit of a first league title since 2004.

As for Manchester City, last season was a rare disappointment under Pep Guardiola. The reigning treble winners from 2022/23 ended the campaign without silverware, finishing third in the league. That said, many expect a strong response, and few would be surprised to see them right back in the thick of the title race.

Then there’s Chelsea. After a turbulent period, the Blues enjoyed a successful 2024/25 season, finishing fourth, winning the UEFA Conference League, and adding the FIFA Club World Cup to their cabinet this summer. With Champions League football back at Stamford Bridge, Enzo Maresca will now be aiming to bridge the gap between his side and the title contenders.

The fixtures are out, and with anticipation building, each of the challengers will be eager to make a fast start to boost their title charge.

Here are the key games in the 2025/26 Premier League title race.

Man Utd vs. Arsenal—Sunday, 17th August

Arsenal’s opening fixture of the 2025–26 Premier League season will see them travel to Old Trafford—a ground where victories have historically been scarce—as they take on long-time adversaries Manchester United in a mouthwatering clash scheduled for Sunday, 17th August.

This encounter extends United’s remarkable run of home openers to a record-setting nine successive seasons—the most ever recorded in the top division of English football. On the other hand, Arsenal will begin their top-flight journey away from the Emirates for the fifth time in the past seven years.

Despite recent inconsistencies from United, a trip to Old Trafford remains one of the most daunting prospects in the Premier League calendar. Mikel Arteta’s squad faces that challenge first up, though their recent history at the venue offers little comfort—just two wins in their last 18 visits, which came in November 2020 and again in May 2024. During that span, the North London side drew six times and suffered defeat on ten occasions.

Last season proved disastrous for the Red Devils, as they ended the 2024–25 campaign in 15th place—their worst-ever Premier League finish, earning only 42 points. Not since 1989–90 had the club ended a league season so low, and they hadn’t posted such a poor points total in the top flight since the relegation year of 1973–74.

The Gunners nonetheless boasted the league’s second-best away form, collecting 35 points away from home, which represented 47.3% of their overall haul. They’ll now look to make a big statement of intent towards their title ambition by aiming for victory here against a United side that won only seven of their 19 games at home last season.

Arsenal vs. Liverpool—Wednesday, 7th January

Liverpool’s last six Premier League contests with Arsenal have all ended without a win for the Merseyside club—the North London side have come out on top twice while sharing the spoils on four occasions. That sequence includes the thrilling 2-2 outcome from their most recent league clash.

This marks Arsenal’s most extended unbeaten spell against Liverpool in over a decade, with the previous best being an eight-match streak between October 2007 and April 2011.

In that pulsating encounter at Anfield, Mikel Arteta’s men clawed their way back from two goals down to earn a valuable point, leaving them within touching distance of securing Champions League qualification, needing just two more points at the time.

Liverpool’s failure to claim maximum points after leading by at least two goals at half-time was a rare occurrence—it hadn’t happened since their 4-3 loss to Bournemouth in December 2016.

Another trend came to a halt for Arsenal in that game—for the first time in three seasons, they were unable to register a goal in the opening ten minutes of a top-flight clash against Liverpool. Since the beginning of the 2022–23 campaign, the Gunners had struck early on four occasions in this fixture—the goals coming from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli (twice), and Gabriel—more than any other team had managed against the Reds during that span.

While expectations were modest going into the previous campaign, Liverpool defied most predictions by capturing the Premier League crown. But attention now shifts to the upcoming challenge—retaining that title. Should they succeed, the club would set a new benchmark for the most English top-flight men’s championships secured, reaching 21.

Arsenal and Liverpool are fully expected to be battling for the title once again this season so the clash at the Emirates Stadium in January could prove pivotal. This is sure to be a sell-out but fans can still secure their seats for the game by finding tickets are resellers such as Seatsnet.com.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Man City—Saturday, 31st January

Spurs are entering the new season under Thomas Frank’s leadership, and the ambition will surely be to bounce back from a disappointing 2024–25 campaign in which they slumped to 17th place, having suffered 22 defeats across the league.

Although an immediate push for the title might not be realistic at this stage, Tottenham could still have a considerable say in the title race, with a high-profile clash against Manchester City scheduled as early as their second league fixture. However, the more consequential match will come in the second leg in North London next year where they’ll be more poise and grit towards the title with four months left.

Interestingly, Frank’s managerial record includes at least one triumph over each member of the Premier League’s established Big Six—a feat achieved despite Brentford’s limitations in squad depth and resources during his time there.

Across eight top-flight games against Pep Guardiola’s City, Frank’s sides picked up two victories. They averaged 0.88 points per match—a record he’ll hope to replicate as he looks to instill the same rugged resilience at Spurs that characterised his Brentford teams.

On the other hand, City’s transfer activity so far already reflects a side gearing up for another strong push in the Premier League, with Guardiola surely eyeing several key fixtures like this one as potential turning points.

At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, City endured a nightmare start, losing each of their first five appearances at the ground without managing a single goal. That streak was broken in January 2024, when they edged a 1-0 FA Cup fourth-round win. The breakthrough was followed by a 2-0 Premier League victory in May, featuring a brace from Erling Haaland and standout saves from backup goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.

However, City were knocked out of the EFL Cup in October 2024 after a 2-1 defeat to Spurs, only to bounce back with a 1-0 win in the league just four months later courtesy of Erling Haaland’s decisive first-half finish.

Chelsea vs. Liverpool—Saturday, 4th October

These two English heavyweights have gone head-to-head 199 times throughout their storied history. Liverpool boast the superior record with 87 victories compared to Chelsea’s 66, alongside 46 stalemates between them.

The first match of the Slot reign came in October 2024, with Liverpool winning 2-1. Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones got on the scoresheet, with their goals sandwiching a strike from Nicolas Jackson that briefly levelled the match.

Both sets of supporters will once again be eager to see their teams assert dominance, knowing that the outcome of such a high-stakes encounter could significantly influence the league standings. These heavy-weight games always sell-out fast but supporters can keep an eye on ticket availability at sites such as Seatsnet.com.

The fixture algorithm has been kind to Chelsea, handing them a seemingly favourable start to the upcoming campaign, opening at home to Crystal Palace on August 17.

In addition, among the nine English clubs competing in Europe, Chelsea arguably enjoy the second-most advantageous schedule following their midweek European outings. They’ll be on the road only twice—against Crystal Palace and Manchester United—and will cover a modest 341 miles in total after their Champions League commitments.

Nonetheless, October promises one of their sternest examinations as they welcome defending champions Liverpool to Stamford Bridge.

It takes absolute honesty for a coach to admit his side were inferior despite winning. That was the case in their previous meeting in West London, when Liverpool earned a 2-1 win, yet Arne Slot candidly stated, “That match was one of the few—perhaps the only one—where I felt Chelsea were better than us. That was my opinion at the time, and it hasn’t changed.”

Slot’s assessment proved justified when Chelsea turned the tables at Anfield, and it now seems that upcoming meetings between the two could grow into some of the fiercest showdowns in the league once more.

Chelsea eventually broke their poor run of results against the Merseyside club in May 2025, securing a 3-1 win over the newly crowned league champions. Still, that result was only their third victory in the last 21 matchups between the two teams across all competitions.