Promoted Premier League sides Coventry City, Hull City, and Ipswich Town face a challenging start to the 2026-27 season, with fixtures against last season's top three and Champions League qualifiers in their opening five games.
Coventry's Fixture List Features Arsenal and Manchester City
Coventry City, returning to the top flight after a 25-year absence, begin their campaign away to Arsenal. The Gunners were last season's champions and are favourites to retain the crown, ranked No 1 in the world by Opta. Their next away trip is to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City, the previous season's champions.
Between these two daunting fixtures, Coventry host fellow promoted side Hull City. While this home game will feel welcome, both meetings between the two sides last season ended in goalless draws. According to the fixture list, Coventry's opening five matches include the two toughest possible opponents in Arsenal and Manchester City.
Hull City Face Manchester United and Aston Villa Early On
Hull City begin their season by hosting Manchester United at the MKM Stadium, then welcome Aston Villa in week three. Both Manchester United and Aston Villa will be competing in the Champions League this season. In weeks four and five, Hull face Chelsea and Newcastle United, making for a tough opening five games before the first international break.
An analysis of wage bills, which may be a fairer way to assess opponent difficulty, does not make the opening five fixtures appear any easier for the promoted sides. All three promoted teams feature in the seven hardest sets of opening fixtures by this measure, according to the data.
Ipswich Town Face Top Seven Opposition in First Three Games
Opta's average opponent rating gives Ipswich Town the easiest first five matches of the promoted sides. However, unlike Coventry or Hull, their first three games are all against clubs that finished in the top seven of the 2025-26 Premier League: Sunderland, Manchester United, and Liverpool. However you choose to assess opposition strength, the start of the season looks ominous for all three promoted sides.
Such matches are often portrayed as unimportant to top-flight newcomers, described as a free hit or an opportunity to collect unlikely points. Recent history suggests the harder games are more important than cliche dictates, even if it is uncertain at this point which clubs will be in the European qualification places next May.
Recent History Shows Promoted Sides Can Earn Points Against Top Teams
Leeds took a very creditable 10 points from matches against the top seven last season, according to the data. That was five fewer than Arsenal, albeit from two extra games. Seventh-placed Sunderland also did well, taking nine points from the sides that finished above them. Even Burnley, who were unable to retain their Premier League status, earned eight points in 14 clashes with the top seven.
The six promoted sides from the preceding two seasons, all of whom were relegated, did not perform as well. Ipswich won six points from the leading seven sides in 2024-25, though Leicester and Southampton took one apiece. It was a similar story the season before, as Luton claimed five points while Sheffield United took two and Burnley took one. Each trio collectively earned eight points, fewer than Leeds or Sunderland alone last season.
Burnley's eight points from the top seven counted for little when they took 14 from their other 24 matches. Wolves, while not promoted, had a nine-11 points split between facing the top septet and the teams eighth or lower too. But starting badly increases pressure on a manager, no matter the level of expectation. The fixture computer has not treated Coventry, Hull, or Ipswich kindly.
