The summer can be a strange time for football fans. Showing my age here but, except in a major tournament year, summers used to be largely football-free from late May until the second half of August. You would pick up a newspaper in the UK and struggle to find much football coverage as sports such as cricket, tennis, athletics and golf took over.
These days, football is unrelentingly all-consuming and it can be hard to identify the gap between one season and the next. This summer has seen one tournament after another, including a new 32-team Club World Cup. The transfer market has almost begun to feel like a sport in its own right. Football is non-stop — as is The Athletic’s coverage of it, for that matter. Amen to that.
But still, the heart quickens as a new season slowly comes around — a new dawn, new players, new kits, new hopes. The Premier League’s 2025-26 campaign will begin on Friday, August 15, when champions Liverpool face Bournemouth at Anfield. Over that opening weekend, there is Aston Villa vs Newcastle United at Villa Park and Manchester United vs Arsenal at Old Trafford. The Monday, August 18, will see Leeds United’s top-flight return against Everton at Elland Road.
And to add to the fun, The Athletic will be launching a weekly Premier League predictions game, where I will give my thoughts on the division’s upcoming fixtures… and where you’ll have the opportunity not just to disagree with me, for my blatant bias against YOUR club, but to prove that you know better.
Every week, we will be asking a subscriber to The Athletic to predict the results in each Premier League match. To add further friendly competition, we will also have weekly scorelines from an algorithm-based predictive model and a (very informed) small child. (Why am I starting to think this has all been designed to leave me with egg on my face?)
Each of the 38 rounds of fixtures will see a different subscriber invited to give us their scorelines.
If you would like to be in contention to be selected, please read the terms below and complete the Google Form with your name, email address, the place you live and the club you support.
The countdown to August 15 starts here!
If you cannot view the Google Form at the bottom of this article, please click on this direct link to enter your information.
By submitting the form below or participating via the link above, you agree that you have read, understand and accept the Reader Submission Terms in relation to all of the content and other information you send to us (“Your Content”). If you do not accept these terms, do not submit any content. Of note:
- Your content must not be false, defamatory, misleading or hateful, or infringe any copyright or any other third-party rights or otherwise be unlawful.
- We may use the contact details that you provide to verify your identity and answers to the questionnaire, as well as to contact you for further information on this story and future stories.
Your individual responses, including your display name and email address, will be permanently deleted by May 24, 2026. If you would like your information deleted earlier than that, please email privacy@theathletic.com.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out at plpredictions@theathletic.com
(Photo: Getty Images; illustration: Demetrius Robinson)
