{"id":21200,"date":"2026-07-25T06:24:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T06:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=21200"},"modified":"2026-07-25T06:24:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T06:24:49","slug":"every-premier-league-teams-pre-season-schedule-ranked-by-difficulty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=21200","title":{"rendered":"Every Premier League team’s pre-season schedule ranked by difficulty"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

With the new Premier League season just around the corner, teams are travelling far and wide to make sure players are physically, tactically and mentally prepared for next month’s opener. <\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as building match fitness, pre-season allows teams to integrate some of their summer signings.<\/p>\n

Arsenal, for example, will begin their Premier League title defence on August 21, when they host Coventry City in the opening game of the 2026-27 campaign, but before that Friday night game, they will take part in five games.<\/p>\n

Here, fans will likely get the chance to watch some new faces in action. Earlier this month, goalkeeper Illan Meslier joined the North London club on a free transfer following the expiry of his Leeds contract.<\/p>\n

More recently, Arsenal completed a \u00a333.8million deal with Belgian side Club Brugge for highly-rated Greek winger Christos Tzolis, who will likely be a direct replacement for Leandro Trossard.<\/p>\n

Mikel Arteta is also keen to bolster his midfield options this summer, with Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes being strongly linked with a move.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Arsenal<\/div>\n

Arsenal are ready to make a move for Bruno Guimaraes in a deal worth a reported \u00a370million. Image credit: Getty<\/cite><\/div>\n

So, how will the defending champions, as well the other 19 Premier League clubs, prepare for the 2026-27 campaign? Here is every team\u2019s pre-season schedule, along with our assessment of how difficult their fixture list is.<\/p>\n

Arsenal<\/h2>\n

Difficulty rating out: 7.5<\/em><\/p>\n

1 August<\/strong> \u2013 Girona (A)<\/p>\n

5 August<\/strong> \u2013 Real Betis (Dublin)<\/p>\n

9 August<\/strong> \u2013 Borussia Dortmund (H)<\/p>\n

12 August:<\/strong> As (H)<\/p>\n

16 August<\/strong> \u2013 FA Community Shield v Man City<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 8.5<\/em><\/p>\n

21 July \u2013 <\/strong>Aston Villa 5-0 Walsall (A)<\/p>\n

25 July<\/strong> \u2013 Porto (A)<\/p>\n

28 July \u2013 <\/strong>Real Sociedad (Walsall)<\/p>\n

1 August \u2013<\/strong> Indonesia All-Stars (Jakarta)<\/p>\n

4 August \u2013<\/strong> BG Pathum United (Pathum Thani)<\/p>\n

7 August<\/strong> \u2013 Bayern Munich (Hong Kong)<\/p>\n

12 August \u2013 <\/strong>UEFA Super Cup – PSG (Salzburg)<\/p>\n

15 August<\/strong> \u2013 Borussia Monchengladbach (A)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 7<\/em><\/p>\n

24 July<\/strong> \u2013 St. Pauli (Saalfelden)<\/p>\n

30 July<\/strong> \u2013 Augsburg (Saalfelden)<\/p>\n

4 August<\/strong> \u2013 Genoa (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 Real Betis (Seville)<\/p>\n

15 August <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Mainz (Mewa Arena)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 6<\/em><\/p>\n

15 July<\/strong> \u2013 Brentford 3-2 AFC Wimbledon<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 Rennes (A)<\/p>\n

15 August<\/strong> \u2013 Eintracht Frankfurt (London)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 7<\/em><\/p>\n

18 July <\/strong>\u2013 Brighton <\/strong>4-1 Wycombe Wanderers<\/p>\n

25 July <\/strong>\u2013 Annecy (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

1 August<\/strong> \u2013 Strasbourg (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 Roma (H)<\/p>\n

15 August<\/strong> \u2013 Bologna (H)<\/p>\n

\n
\"Brighton<\/div>\n

Brighton will come up against Strasbourg and Roma this summer. Image credit: Getty<\/cite><\/div>\n

Difficulty rating: 8<\/em><\/p>\n

28 July<\/strong> \u2013 Western Sydney Wanderers (Sydney)<\/p>\n

1 August<\/strong> \u2013 Spurs (Sydney)<\/p>\n

5 August <\/strong>\u2013 Juventus (Hong Kong)<\/p>\n

8 August <\/strong>\u2013 AC Milan (Jakarta)<\/p>\n

9 August <\/strong>\u2013 Johor Darul Ta’zim (Johor)<\/p>\n

15 August<\/strong> \u2013 Royal Society (H)<\/p>\n

Coventry City<\/h2>\n

Difficulty rating: 6<\/em><\/p>\n

11 July <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Wimbledon 3-2 Coventry<\/strong> (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

18 July <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Northampton Town 0-0 Coventry<\/strong> (A)<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 Espanyol (H)<\/p>\n

14 August<\/strong> \u2013 Monaco (H)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 6.5<\/em><\/p>\n

18 July \u2013 Crystal Palace<\/strong> 5-1 Swindon (Crystal Palace Academy)<\/p>\n

25 July \u2013 Bromley (Hayes Lane)<\/p>\n

28<\/strong> July<\/strong> \u2013 Lens (Lake Como)<\/p>\n

28 July <\/strong>\u2013 Famalicao (Lake Como)<\/p>\n

15 August <\/strong>\u2013 Freiburg (Europa-Park Stadium)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 7.5<\/em><\/p>\n

18 July \u2013 <\/strong>Dundee 0-4 Everton<\/strong> (A)<\/p>\n

25 July \u2013<\/strong> Bolton (A)<\/p>\n

28 July \u2013<\/strong> Stoke (A)<\/p>\n

1 August \u2013<\/strong> Hamburg (A)<\/p>\n

8 August \u2013<\/strong> Stuttgart (A)<\/p>\n

12 August<\/strong> \u2013 Newcastle (Edinburgh)<\/p>\n

15 August \u2013 <\/strong>Lille (H)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 5<\/em><\/p>\n

28 July <\/strong>\u2013 Al-Ahli (A)<\/p>\n

15 August<\/strong> \u2013 Stuttgart (H)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 6.5<\/em><\/p>\n

25 July<\/strong> \u2013 Konyaspor (Slovenia)<\/p>\n

28 July<\/strong> \u2013 Caykur Rizespor (Slovenia)<\/p>\n

1 August<\/strong> \u2013 Kasimpasa (Istanbul)<\/p>\n

8 August <\/strong>\u2013 Eintracht Frankfurt (A)<\/p>\n

15 August <\/strong>\u2013 OGC Nice (H)<\/p>\n

Ipswich Town<\/h2>\n

Difficulty rating: 6.5<\/em><\/p>\n

29 July<\/strong> \u2013 Health (Colchester)<\/p>\n

1 August <\/strong>\u2013 Oxford Utd (A)<\/p>\n

1 August <\/strong>\u2013 Wycombe (A)<\/p>\n

4 August <\/strong>\u2013 Le Havre (H)<\/p>\n

8 August <\/strong>\u2013 Rayo Vallecano (H)<\/p>\n

15 August<\/strong> \u2013<\/strong> Union Berlin (Berlin)<\/p>\n

\n
\"Ipswich<\/div>\n

Ipswich will take on Rayo Vallecano and Union Berlin in pre-season. Image credit: Getty<\/cite><\/div>\n

Leeds United<\/h2>\n

Difficulty rating: 8.5<\/em><\/p>\n

25 July<\/strong> \u2013 Wrexham (Tampa)<\/p>\n

30 July<\/strong> \u2013 Sunderland (New Jersey)<\/p>\n

2 August<\/strong> \u2013 Liverpool (Chicago)<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 RB Leipzig (H)<\/p>\n

12 August<\/strong> \u2013 Man Utd (Dublin)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 8<\/em><\/p>\n

25 July<\/strong> \u2013 Sunderland (Nashville)<\/p>\n

29 July<\/strong> \u2013 Wrexham (New York)<\/p>\n

2 August<\/strong> \u2013 Leeds (Chicago)<\/p>\n

9 August<\/strong> \u2013 Monaco (Anfield)<\/p>\n

16 August<\/strong> \u2013 Como (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

16 August<\/strong> \u2013 Like (Anfield)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 7.5<\/em><\/p>\n

1 August <\/strong>\u2013 Inter Milan (Hong Kong)<\/p>\n

5 August <\/strong>\u2013 K-League All-Stars (Seoul)<\/p>\n

9 August<\/strong> \u2013 Atletico Madrid (Seoul)<\/p>\n

16 August<\/strong> \u2013 FA Community Shield v Arsenal (Cardiff)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 8.5<\/em><\/p>\n

18 July Man Utd <\/strong>0-1 Wrexham (Helsinki)<\/p>\n

24 July<\/strong> \u2013 Rosenborg (Trondheim)<\/p>\n

1 August <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Atletico Madrid (Stockholm)<\/p>\n

8 August <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Paris Saint-Germain (Gothenburg)<\/p>\n

12 August<\/strong> \u2013 Leeds (Dublin)<\/p>\n

15 August <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>AC Milan (Wroclaw)<\/p>\n

\n
\"Manchester<\/div>\n

Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat to Wrexham in their pre-season opener. Image credit: Getty<\/cite><\/div>\n

Newcastle United<\/h2>\n

Difficulty rating: 8<\/em><\/p>\n

18 July \u2013 Newcastle<\/strong> 3-0 Darlington (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

25 July <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Gateshead (A)<\/p>\n

29 July <\/strong>\u2013 Bristol City (A)<\/p>\n

8 August <\/strong>\u2013 Valencia (A)<\/p>\n

12 August<\/strong> \u2013 Everton (Edinburgh)<\/p>\n

15 August<\/strong> \u2013 Bayer Leverkusen (H)<\/p>\n

16 August<\/strong> \u2013 Strasbourg (H)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 8.5<\/em><\/p>\n

18 July <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Notts County 0-2 Nott’m Forest <\/strong>(A)<\/p>\n

22 July <\/strong>\u2013 Nott’m Forest<\/strong> 3-0 Blackburn (Albufeira)<\/p>\n

26 July <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Vitoria (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

31 July<\/strong> \u2013 Sporting (Faro)<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 Udinese (Udine)<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 Barcelona (Udine)<\/p>\n

12 August <\/strong>\u2013 Bayer Leverkusen (H)<\/p>\n

16 August<\/strong> \u2013 Brest (H)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 8<\/em><\/p>\n

18 July <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>York City 1-5 Sunderland<\/strong> (York)<\/p>\n

25 July<\/strong> \u2013 Liverpool (Nashville)<\/p>\n

30 July<\/strong> \u2013 Leeds (New Jersey)<\/p>\n

2 August<\/strong> \u2013 Wrexham (Philadelphia)<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 Lens (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

8 August<\/strong> \u2013 Lens (Lens)<\/p>\n

15 August \u2013 <\/strong>Rennes (Stadium of Light)<\/p>\n

Difficulty rating: 8<\/em><\/p>\n

22 July <\/strong>\u2013 MK Dons (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

26 July<\/strong> \u2013 Auckland FC (Auckland)<\/p>\n

29 July<\/strong> \u2013 Sydney FC (Sydney)<\/p>\n

1 August<\/strong> \u2013 Chelsea (Sydney)<\/p>\n

8 August <\/strong>\u2013 Getafe (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n

15 August<\/strong> \u2013 Hoffenheim (H)<\/p>\n

16 August<\/strong> \u2013 Hoffenheim (behind closed doors)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the new Premier League season just around the corner, teams are travelling far and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}