Strap yourselves in, the 2026/27 campaign begins in earnest over the next few days, and here we’re highlighting the biggest games to look out for. As always, hit the link to open any match we mention on FotMob, and click the star to add it to your favourites, or the bell to track the score.
Centre Circle is where we cover the headline stories.
The opening weekend of the Premier League
Three new teams, nine fresh managers, countless players transferred in and out, but now we’re ready for the off. The 2026/27 edition of the world’s biggest league is upon us.
The opening round is spread out across the next four nights and starts with something that we might want to see become a tradition. Champions vs. Champions: Arsenal, having claimed their first title in 22 years, play promoted side Coventry City, who won the Championship in style.
Frank Lampard ended the Sky Blues’ 25-year wait for a return to the promised land and with the third-highest net spend in the division (at the time of writing), it looks like they’re determined to hang around.
Big Frank Lampard takes Coventry City to champions Arsenal
Elsewhere, perhaps the most upheaval has taken place at Manchester City, with the post-Pep era getting underway for Enzo Maresca’s new-look squad at home to Bournemouth on Sunday. Across the city, Michael Carrick’s permanent appointment at United could see the sort of stability required for them to challenge again. Hull City Away, in the lunchtime slot on Saturday, is United’s first test.
Of the other headline grabbing managerial appointments, Andoni Iraola takes Liverpool to Matthias Jaissle’s Newcastle on Sunday, and Monday night sees a clash between two managers who spent time at Real Madrid last season as Xabi Alonso leads out Chelsea at near neighbours Fulham, now under the control of Álvaro Arbeloa.
Staggered restart for Barcelona and Real Madrid
As covered in last week’s edition of The Assist, LaLiga is already up and running, with the majority of teams involved last weekend, and Atlético Madrid starting with a win over promoted side Malaga on Wednesday. Now, Spain’s perpetual enemies join the party on Matchday 2.
José Mourinho is back for his second stint as manager of Real Madrid and will be determined to end the unseriousness displayed on and off the pitch at the Bernabéu last season. He’ll be helped by a set of reinforcements that includes World Cup winner Marc Cucurella, the evergreen Bernardo Silva, and the exciting Yan Diomande. Madrid start away - at Barcelona-based Espanyol, on Saturday.
Barcelona and Real Madrid’s eternal battle gets underway again
Not to be outdone in the eternal game of one-upmanship between the two, Barcelona went one step further by unveiling Rodri, Spain’s World Cup winning-captain, as one of their new signings before their final preseason game on Wednesday night.
The defending champions are looking to make it a threepeat, something Barcelona have only achieved twice before in their history, and Hansi Flick is keen to add more shiny new toys to his squad before the transfer window closes. Barca also begin their campaign on the road, travelling to Elche on Sunday, one of the surprise packages from last season.
Can Inter retain the Scudetto?
With four different winners since 2020, we’re never far away from a new title challenge in Serie A. This destination of this season’s title does, however, appear to be a little bit more predictable.
Inter Milan won the league by 11 points under Cristian Chivu in 2025/26 and they only appear to be strengthened further by the budget-beating triple signing of Englishmen John Stones, Djed Spence, and Curtis Jones. The champions begin their title defence at home to Monza on Saturday evening, with the visitors having returned to the top flight after one season away.
Of the teams who finished behind Inter in the top six, Roma (third), Como (fourth), and Juventus (sixth) all start the new campaign with the same coach that ended last season, while Maxi Allegri has swapped AC Milan (fifth) for Napoli (second). The latter face Genoa over the opening weekend.
Former Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is the new man entrusted with the Milan job, and he’ll make his Serie A debut at Torino on Sunday.
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In The Far Post, we go further afield, shifting through the match feed for interesting stories.
DFB Pokal First Round
The Bundesliga is the only one of Europe’s top five leagues that is NOT in action this weekend, but fear not, because there’s still competitive football to be had in Germany, by way of the DFB Pokal first round.
Always one of the more entertaining domestic cup competitions, there is plenty of that glorious cupset potential thanks to the lower ranked side being guaranteed a home draw. This weekend, for instance, Eintracht Frankfurt go to regional fifth tier side St. Tönis, Bayer Leverkusen face 3.Liga side Wehen Wiesbaden, and the excellently named Würzburger Kickers host FC Köln on Monday.
Germany’s big two, however, are not involved, with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich instead going head-to-head in Saturday’s Super Cup.
Germany’s Big Two meet in the Super Cup
Derby day In Bruges
The Belgium Pro League reaches a third matchday this weekend and that sees an early season derby game between the two sides who share the Jan Breydel Stadium, just outside the ancient UNESCO-recognised city centre of Bruges.
One of the more one-sided rivalries in European football, Club Brugge have dominated against Cercle Brugge in recent years - winning five and drawing five of the last 10 meetings - and the reigning champions have started this season with back-to-back 3-0 victories.
The Green and Blacks are also unbeaten but will do well to end a six-year run without getting one over their city neighbours.
Interlopers back in the Swiss Super League
FC Vaduz, the only professional side based in the landlocked mircrostate of Liechtenstein, are back in the big time as guests in the Swiss Super League for a fourth time in their history following promotion.
FC Vaduz, the Liechtensteiners in the Swiss Super League
Without a national league of their own (Liechtenstein only measures about 160 square kilometres), Vaduz play in the Swiss pyramid instead, but are in the unusual position of not being able to A) claim the title even if they finish first in the top flight, or B) qualify for Europe via their final league position.
Not that either looks a likely proposition a few weeks into the new campaign. Vaduz have failed to pick up a point despite finding the net in each of their three games so far, but now have the opportunity to change that at one of the big boys, away to Young Boys on Sunday.
Friday: For the second weekend in a row, Arsenal take on a team in sky blue as the Gunners’ Premier League title defence gets underway against Coventry City. The 2026/27 season in Ligue 1 kicks off with Marseille vs. Strasbourg, with both clubs under new management. It’s an all royal affair as Real Betis and Real Sociedad start the second round of games in LaLiga, and the first round of the DFB Pokal involves tricky away ties for Eintracht Frankfurt, at fifth tier St. Tönis (who!?), and Stuttgart, who go to Hansa Rostock of the 3.Liga.
Saturday: Hull City vs. Man United starts a run of five Premier League games that concludes with Spurs’ season opener at Brentford. The big game in the Championship sees Charlton Athletic reunited with West Ham, while in Scotland, there’s an early season derby for close rivals Dundee United and Dundee. Espanyol vs. Real Madrid is the headline game in LaLiga, and Serie A title contenders Inter Milan and Napoli begin their season with trips to Monza and Genoa respectively. Back in France, newly crowned Super Cup winners Lens face Auxerre, while archrivals Dortmund and Bayern contest the German Super Cup at Signal Iduna Park.
Sunday: The Premier League weekend continues with Enzo Maresca’s first league game in charge of Man City seeing them take on Bournemouth, who’s recently departed manager, Andoni Iraola, will lead out Liverpool for the first time away at Newcastle. Barcelona belatedly get their league campaign started on the road vs. Elche, with Atlético Madrid vs. Villarreal being a battle between the sides who finished third and fourth in LaLiga last season. Overwhelming favourites to retain their crown, PSG start Ligue 1 vs. Rennes at the Parc des Princes, Juventus play newly promoted Frosinone in Serie A, and in Portugal, Porto face surprise early leaders Arouca - could the away side upset one of the country’s big three?
Test your Ball Knowledge
Our weekly prediction game, FotMob Predict, is back for the start of the season.
A weekly FotMob’s Top Picks competition consisting of 6-8 top matches from the weekend returns, and if you join our league, we’ll find a nice prize for the winner.
Plus we’ve brought in league-specific competitions this year for the Premier League and Championship, plus the top leagues in Europe.
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