Crystal Palace 2025-26 Premier League fixtures: Eagles handed tough opener as Brighton dates confirmed
Crystal Palace will hope to build on a superb season under Oliver Glasner last season.
Oliver Glasner will be delighted with last season at Selhurst Park, finishing 12th in the Premier League, but also being one of the better form teams in the second half of the Premier League season.
Palace also won the FA Cup, which should allow them a spot in the Europa League next season, assuming that UEFA allow them to be in the competition. There are complications regarding ownership rules with John Textor also having a stake in Lyon FC, who are also in the Europa League.
If Palace can keep hold of some of their top stars, including Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Jean-Phillippe Mateta, then they may be able to improve even further on last year, and will be looking forward to seeing who they face first in the Premier League next season.
Who will Crystal Palace play against first?
Up first for Palace is a London derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 17th. Their first home game will be a week later against Nottingham Forest. The Eagles’ season will end on Sunday 24 May at home to Arsenal as they bookend the 2025-26 season with two London derbies.
August 17th: Chelsea (A)
August 23rd: Nottingham Forest (H)
August 30th: Aston Villa (A)
September 13th: Sunderland (H)
September 20th: West Ham (A)
September 27th: Liverpool (H)
October 4th: Everton (A)
October 18th: Bournemouth (H)
October 25th: Arsenal (A)
November 1st: Brentford (H)
November 8th: Brighton (H)
November 22nd: Wolves (A)
November 29th: Man Utd (H)
December 3rd: Burnley (H)
December 6th: Fulham (A)
December 13th: Man City (H)
December 20th: Leeds United (A)
December 27th: Tottenham (H)
December 30th: Fulham (H)
January 3rd: Newcastle (A)
January 7th: Aston Villa (H)
January 17th: Sunderland (A)
January 24th: Chelsea (H)
January 31st: Nottingham Forest (A)
February 7th: Brighton (A)
February 11th: Burnley (H)
February 21st: Wolves (H)
February 28th: Man Utd (A)
March 4th: Tottenham (A)
March 14th: Leeds United (H)
March 21st: Man City (A)
April 11th: Newcastle (H)
April 18th: West Ham (H)
April 25th: Liverpool (A)
May 2nd: Bournemouth (A)
May 9th: Everton (H)
May 17th: Brentford (A)
May 24th: Arsenal (H)
How does the Premier League decide the fixtures?
The Premier League has to take into account several things when deciding their fixtures, including congestion, home and away games, and also international breaks, cup games and European fixtures, something that Palace will hopefully be contending with next season.
They say on their official website: “We start when we know the composition of each division, so after the last Football League playoff. We place each club in a pairing grid, which defines the dates they will be at home.
“For every date in the season, the fixture computer knows which clubs are at home and who are away and then it will mix them up randomly to determine the matches. In any five matches there should be a split of three home fixtures, two away or the other way around. A team will never have more than two home or away matches in a row, and, wherever possible, you will be home and away around FA Cup ties. A club will never start or finish the season with two home or two away matches because it would be unfair for a team to finish with two aways.
“Around the Christmas period, if you are at home on Boxing Day you will be away on New Year's Day or an equivalent date. We also try to maintain a Saturday home-away sequence throughout the season wherever possible.
“Most clubs will have a partner club with whom they cannot clash, such as Manchester United and Manchester City, or Liverpool and Everton. In London it gets a bit more complex and less obvious.”