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Arsenal will begin their Premier League title defence against promoted side, Coventry, on August 21.

The Premier League fixtures for the 2026-27 campaign were released on Friday, with the Gunners’ home game against Frank Lampard’s Coventry among the highlights in the opening round of matches.Coventry are back in the top-flight for the first time in 25 years after winning the Championship last season.

Andoni Iraola’s first Premier League game as Liverpool manager will be at Newcastle on August 23.

Manchester City start life after Pep Guardiola at home to Bournemouth on August 23.

City are expected to appoint former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca to replace Guardiola, who stepped down at the end of the season after a decade in charge.

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso begins his reign with a west London derby at Fulham on August 24.

Hull City, who won promotion via the Championship play-offs, begin their first Premier League season since 2017 with a home fixture against Manchester United on August 22.

Ipswich, promoted in second place in the Championship, host Sunderland on August 22.

Elsewhere on the first weekend, Europa League winners Aston Villa travel to Brighton.

Brentford host Tottenham, Everton welcome Crystal Palace and Leeds visit Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal, champions for the first time since 2004, face a testing period after they host Coventry.

Mikel Arteta’s side head to Villa for their first away league game of the season, then meet Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on September 5.

Trips to Sunderland and Brighton follow for the north Londoners.

The weekend of September 12 brings the first Manchester derby of the post-Guardiola era, while Liverpool host Manchester United on November 21.

City and Arsenal do not face each other until November 28 at the Emirates Stadium.

The first Merseyside derby of the season between Everton and Liverpool is scheduled for November 28 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Roberto De Zerbi will get his first taste of the north London derby on December 5 when Tottenham host Arsenal.

The pick of the Boxing Day schedule sees Coventry boss Lampard facing his old club Chelsea on December 26.

Liverpool travel to arch rivals Manchester United on January 23 and a week later City host Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

The final day of the Premier League will take place on May 30, with Arsenal at home to Brighton while City travel to Sunderland and Liverpool host Bournemouth.

Chelsea and United finish at home to Brentford and Fulham respectively.

The start and the end of the coming season are later than usual as a result of the World Cup, which finishes just 34 days before the Premier League begins.

Arsenal will face FA Cup winners City in the Community Shield, which serves as the curtain raiser to the top-flight season, on August 16.

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s former team mate Paul Scholes has remarked that he has become somewhat of a ‘problem’ for Portugal, asserting that it is inappropriate for the superstar forward to still be leading the team at the age of 41.

Ronaldo matched Lionel Messi’s record by participating in six different World Cups, captaining Portugal during their opening group-stage match against DR Congo on Wednesday.

Roberto Martinez boasts a talented squad this summer, and the 2025 Nations League champions are considered strong contenders for the prestigious trophy, alongside teams such as France, Spain, England, and the current champions, Argentina.

Although Joao Neves scored early in the sixth minute, giving Portugal a promising start, Martinez’s team was unable to take advantage of their control in Houston.

Newcastle forward, Yoane Wissa scored an equalizer against the run of play just before half-time, leaving the match tied, and Portugal could not find a winning goal, ultimately settling for a draw.

It was a forgettable evening for Ronaldo, who did not create any opportunity, take any shots, successfully dribble past an opponent, or win a single duel during a particularly disappointing first half.

Despite this, Martinez chose to keep Ronaldo on the pitch until the end of the match, substituting Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Tomas Araujo, and Nuno Mendes instead.

‘I believe it’s challenging for the manager,’ Scholes, a former England and Manchester United midfielder, stated on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

I once had a conversation with Roberto Martinez off-camera during a Stick to Football session, where I inquired, “Is he a problem for you?”, as I feel he is somewhat of a concern.

‘At 41 years of age… I believe there is only one position on the field where a player of that age should be starting, and that is as a goalkeeper, in my opinion.

Now look, he is going to score goals and he’s in a team that have a lot of possession, but once there’s a game where it has to be transition… and there will be games like that. His movement at 41 years of age…’

Scholes, who shared a dressing room with Ronaldo for six years at Old Trafford, ‘feels sorry’ for Martinez and believes the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would be far more effective coming off the bench in the closing stages.

“The trouble with Portugal is they haven’t really got an outstanding centre-forward anyway, have they? You’ve got to have somebody who runs,” he added.

“For me, he has to be a player for the last 15 minutes. For a 40 or 41-year-old to be playing centre-forward, I just don’t get it.

You might get away with it at centre-half, you might do in a team that keeps the ball and you probably get away with it as a goalkeeper, but as a centre-forward at 41… it’s not right.

“We saw it with Croatia and Luka Modric last night at 40 years old. Central midfield at 40…

“Cristiano will be so pissed off because Lionel Messi got a hat-trick, Kylian Mbappe got two… it will be killing him.

“I feel sorry for Martinez because he’s trying to embrace it and he’s saying, “No, I’ve got the best goalscorer in the world”, but deep down he must know that’s hurting his team.”

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Real Madrid have confirmed the signing of defender Ibrahima Konate.

The LaLiga side has agreed a four-year deal with the defender, who will join the club when his contract expires at Liverpool on June 30.

Recall that Konate announced that he would be leaving Anfield when his contract expires this summer after failing to reach an agreement on a new deal.

He joins Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella as Jose Mourinho’s first signings since returning for a second spell in charge at the Bernabeu.

Konate joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig in 2021 in a £35 million move. During his five-year spell, he made 183 appearances and helped the Reds win the Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups.

The France international, currently with his national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, had earlier expressed disappointment at not getting the opportunity to say goodbye to Liverpool supporters during the club’s final home league game of last season.

Konate becomes one of Real Madrid’s latest additions this summer as the Spanish giants continue rebuilding under returning manager José Mourinho.