Burnley's 2025/26 Premier League fixture reveal: Date, time and how schedule is produced
The countdown to Burnley’s Premier League return is well and truly on – and a significant milestone ahead of the 2025/26 campaign is just around the corner.
Scott Parker’s side will discover their fixture list for the upcoming season when their schedule is confirmed at 9am on Wednesday.
It comes after the Clarets secured an instant return to the top flight with a second-placed finish in the Championship.
Despite amassing 100 points, Parker’s side were edged out in the race for the title by Leeds United on goal difference.
Sunderland will also join Burnley and Leeds in the Premier League after edging out Sheffield United in the Championship play-offs.
Key dates
The opening round of games will then kick off on Saturday, August 16, with the final round being played on Sunday, May 24, 2026.
The Premier League has confirmed the 2025/26 season will consist of 33 weekends and five midweek match rounds.
The schedule continues to allow more rest time for players over the festive match-round period, with no two rounds taking place within 60 hours of each other. This is in keeping with commitments made to clubs to address the congested Christmas and New Year schedule.
The Premier League also state the August 16 start date allows for the maximum player rest time available – 83 clear days – from the end of the 2024/25 season.
Following criticism over the scheduling of the match between Wolves and Chelsea on December 24, 2023, there will be no Christmas Eve fixture for the second year in a row.
The May 24, 2026 season end date, meanwhile, ensures the Premier League season finishes ahead of the 2026 World Cup call-up period.
How the schedule is produced
According to the Premier League, putting together the fixture schedule takes up to six months. The process is managed by IT company Atos, which has its headquarters just outside of Paris.
A slew of information about the football calendar – international dates, European matchweeks, and the scheduling of the lower leagues – is inputted into the system. Further information such as policing capacity and geographical proximity are also taken into account.
Once all of the background information has been inputted, clubs are put in a pairing grid, which defines when they will play at home and when they will play away. From there, the system generates a randomised set of fixtures.
The fixture list is manually verified by Atos staff and representatives from the Premier League and Football League. If any issues are spotted, the process is repeated again and a new set of fixtures is generated until one is deemed to satisfy all requirements.