Premier League PREVIEW 23 Aug 2026: New Faces on the Touchline as Premier League Season Kicks Off

Newcastle United host Liverpool in the standout fixture of the Premier League's opening weekend, and both clubs go into it with new head coaches. Eddie Howe left St James' Park on 31 July after four and a half years, and Newcastle moved quickly to appoint Matthias Jaissle, confirmed on 5 August after a spell with Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. Jaissle said on his arrival, "It is an incredible honour to become head coach of Newcastle United," adding that he "fully and unreservedly" believed in the club's project. Liverpool have also changed manager since last season, with Andoni Iraola replacing Arne Slot, and arrive at St James' Park having lost Mohamed Salah as a free agent over the summer along with Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson, while spending on Jeremy Jacquet, Victor Munoz and Ifeanyi Ndukwe. Newcastle finished 12th last season, well below Liverpool's fifth, but our model makes the home side favourites, at 85%, for what is a first competitive test for both new regimes.

Manchester City's opener at home to Bournemouth is Enzo Maresca's first Premier League match since succeeding Pep Guardiola, who stepped down after a decade in charge at the end of last season. City spent big to reshape the squad, headlined by the £116m club-record arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest, while long-serving figures Bernardo Silva and John Stones left as free agents and Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake were both sold to different Turkish and Italian clubs. Bournemouth arrive off the back of the best league finish in their history, sixth place last season, and now begin life under Marco Rose, who took over in June, with European football to follow later in the season after they secured a first-ever Europa League campaign. Our model favours City at 84% at the Etihad.

Brighton host Aston Villa having finished eighth in the Premier League last season and gone on to qualify for the Conference League play-off round, while Villa arrive as reigning Europa League champions after beating SC Freiburg 3-0 in the final in May, their first European trophy since 1982. Both clubs did heavy summer business: Brighton paid a club-record £46m for Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham, having sold Jan Paul van Hecke to the same club for £52m, while Villa banked a club-record £117m from Chelsea for Morgan Rogers and spent £52m on Johan Manzambi from Freiburg. Fabian Hurzeler, who signed a contract extension to 2029 in May, begins his third season as Brighton head coach against Unai Emery's Villa. Our model makes Brighton clear favourites at 85%.