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After all the FIFA World Cup action this past summer, it’s perfectly normal to still be hungry for more professional soccer to watch.
Luckily, most European club football seasons start this month, including the English Premier League, the most popular club soccer league in the world, which kicks off this Friday with Arsenal taking on Coventry City at 3 p.m. ET.
EPL fandom in the U.S. has been growing even before this past summer, and with it has come bars pouring out early morning Guinness for groups supporting almost every club in the league each weekend.
Kickoffs can be as early as 7:30 a.m., so just watching the games on your couch, with the necessary NBC and Peacock subscriptions, is totally doable.
If you want to cheer with fans of a certain team, or just recapture the community vibes of the World Cup, here’s where you can find fans for the 20 Premier League teams gathering for games this season.
Most locations show soccer regularly and you can show up whichever team you support — though antagonizing probably won’t go over too well. Some good neutral soccer-watching venues that were recommended include Hilltown Tavern in Fairmount is also a good option and Fadó Irish Pub in Center City.
Lion Sports Bar in Chinatown will have all the games on its many screens, and is also the supporters spot for Italian league team Napoli. The bar also recently recruited a “soccer guru” Jessica Malone, a former World Cup volunteer who has attended more than 200 matches at 114 stadiums across 23 countries, to run a series of Soccer 101 classes starting this Monday.
For the early kickoffs, be sure to double check with the relevant groups or the venues if they’ll be open before making a potentially disappointing trek there and finding closed doors.
Here’s this season’s team’s and supporters’ groups.
Arsenal
Where in the U.K. are they: North London, in the borough of Islington.
Last season’s finish: The Gunners are the defending champions, having finished first at the end of last season.
Local fan group: Arsenal Philadelphia.
Meeting spots: The group’s headquarters pub is Misconduct Tavern in Logan Square. They also host watch groups at the Rittenhouse Misconduct Tavern.
The team also has official supporters group chapters that meet in Delco, West Chester, Reading and Lancaster.
Aston Villa
Where in the U.K. are they: In Birmingham, in England’s West Midlands region.
Last season’s finish: Fourth in the league. The Villans did also win the UEFA Europa League, the second-tier European cup competition behind the Champions League.
Local fan group: Philadelphia Lions.
Meeting spot: The group meets for select games at the Black Taxi in Fairmount. Lions administrator Garrett Hughes said that following the group’s X and Facebook accounts is the best way to keep up with which games they’ll meet for.
Bournemouth
Where in the U.K. are they: On the south coast of England, in the ceremonial county of Dorset.
Last season’s finish: Sixth in the league.
Local fan group: We checked in with the North American Cherries Overseas Supporters (NACHOS) Facebook group and there are currently no Philly groups or meetups.
American on the team: Midfielder Tyler Adams, who featured prominently for the U.S. national team at the World Cup.
Brentford
Where in the U.K. are they: West London.
Last season’s finish: ninth in the league.
Local fan group: The administrator for the Brentford Bees of Philadelphia Facebook group said that the group is not active at the moment.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Where in the U.K. are they: On the southeast coast of England, in East Sussex County.
Last season’s finish: Eighth in the league.
Local fan group: Philly Seagulls.
Meeting spots: Urban Saloon in Spring Garden.
Coventry City
Where in the U.K. are they: in England’s West Midlands.
Last season’s finish: The Sky Blues are back in the Premier League thanks to a first-place finish in English soccer’s second division, confusingly named the Championship. The bottom three teams in the Premier League — West Ham United, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers last season — get relegated down to the Championship.
Local Fan group: We were unable to find a group, which makes sense considering Coventry hasn’t been in the Premier League since the 2000-2001 season.
American on the team: Forward Haji Wright, who was also in the World Cup squad. He likely won’t see the field for up to the first 12 weeks of the season after injuring his quad.
Chelsea
Where in the U.K. are they: West London, specifically in Hammersmith and Fulham.
Last season’s finish: 10th in the league.
Local Fan group: Philly Blues.
Meeting spots: The group will meet at Cavanaugh’s in Rittenhouse this season, having previously been at Tír na nÓg.
Crystal Palace
Where in the U.K. are they: South London, in the borough of Croydon. The team’s kit colors and stadium will look pretty familiar to “Ted Lasso” fans, though the fictional AFC Richmond was based out of West London.
Last season’s finish:15th in the league, but Palace, also nicknamed the Eagles, did win the UEFA Conference League, the third-tier European competition that also runs during the league season.
Local Fan group: Philly Palace.
Meeting spots: The Black Taxi in Fairmount.
American on the team: Chris Richards, who was one of the first-choice defenders on the World Cup team.
Everton
Where in the U.K. are they? In Liverpool, in the northwest English county of Merseyside.
Last season’s finish: 13th in the League.
Local fan group: Philadelphia Evertonians.
Meeting spot: O’Neal’s Irish Pub in Queen Village.
Fulham
Where in the U.K. are they? West London, in the same borough as Chelsea.
Last season’s finish: 11th in the league.
Local fan group: Fulham in Philadelphia (Phulham). They post on X (formerly Twitter) and Blue Sky.
Meeting spot: Jose Pistola’s in Center City.
American on the team: USMNT left back Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, another consistent starter during the World Cup.
Hull City
Where in the U.K. are they? In England’s eastern port city of Kingston upon Hull, in East Riding of Yorkshire.
Last season’s finish: Sixth in the Championship, which earned them a playoff spot. The Tigers defeated Millwall and then Southampton to secure promotion to the Premier League.
Local fan group: Not one we could find.
Ipswich Town
Where in the U.K. are they? Ipswich is a port town in the borough of Suffolk, along the south east of England.
Last season’s finish: Second in the Championship, earning the “the Tractor Boys” an automatic promotion spot.
Local fan group: A Philly chapter of the supporters club was set up, but never really got off the ground, according to Harry Smith, one of the Facebook group’s administrators.
Meeting spot: Smith said he’ll be watching the games at Fadó — and possibly some games at Marsha’s on South South Street — when he’s back in Philly. Any fans are welcome to join.
Leeds United
Where in the U.K. are they? In northern England’s West Yorkshire County
Last season’s finish: The Whites, or Peacocks, finished 14th.
Local fan group: Leeds United Philadelphia
Meeting spot: The Black Taxi in Fairmount.
American on the team: Medford, N.J.’s own Brenden Aronson, who was on the USMNT squad.
Liverpool
Where in the U.K. are they? In Liverpool, in the northwest England county of Merseyside. The team’s home stadium is just under three miles away from Everton’s new ground.
Last season’s finish: The Reds finished fifth at the end of last season.
Local fan group: OLSC Philadelphia.
Meeting spots: The group meets at Cavanaugh’s Headhouse in Society Hill and Kildare’s Pub in West Chester for all matches. International Bar in Kensington, as well as Union Jack’s pubs in Glenside and Manatawny, Iron Abbey in Horsham are also open and playing most games after 9 a.m., though it’s wise to check with the group or the venues first.
Manchester City
Where in the U.K. are they? In the city of Manchester, in Northwest England
Last season’s finish: Second in the league, seven points behind Arsenal. They did win the FA Cup and the English Football League Cup, Britain’s two premier cup competitions that also run during the league season.
Local fan group: Manchester City Official Supporters Club Philadelphia.
Meeting spot: The group meets at Tír na nÓg. The group also lists Stateside Vodka as a meeting spot for afternoon games, along with other options in the burbs, New Jersey and Delaware.
Manchester United
Where in the U.K. are they? In the city of Manchester in Northwest England, about 4½ miles west of Manchester City’s stadium.
Last season’s finish: Third in the league.
Local fan group: MUFC Philly
Meeting spot: the long-time meeting spot for the supporters’ group, The Black Sheep Pub in Rittenhouse Square, is rebuilding after fires in May. The group will be watching games at Lion Bar until then.
Newcastle United
Where in the U.K. are they? In Newcastle upon Tyne, England’s northernmost city
Last season’s finish: Twelfth in the league.
Local fan group: Toon Army Philadelphia
Meeting spot: The Kite & Key in Franklintown, just north of Logan Square.
Nottingham Forest
Where in the U.K. are they? In the county of Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands region
Last season’s finish: Sixteenth in the league
Local fan group: We found two groups for this. Nottingham Forest FC Philadelphia on Facebook is an admittedly small group of Forest fans meet at Kildare’s Pub in West Chester.
Another group with an Instagram account meets at The Fairmount Tavern in Spring Garden.
Sunderland
Where in the U.K. are they? In northeast England, in the same county as Newcastle
Last season’s finish: Seventh in the league.
Local fan group: We reached out to the team’s North American supporters association and they said they’ve never seen a large number of fans in the Philly area (they’ve had better luck in Horsham and Reading, strangely). So you can choose from where the other teams frequent. Maybe not Newcastle’s spot though, as that’s a relatively heated rivalry.
Tottenham Hotspur
Where in the U.K. are they? Another North London club, in the borough of Haringey.
Last season’s finish: Seventeenth in the league, just one place shy of relegation.
Local fan group: Philadelphia Spurs
Meeting spot: Founding Fathers Bar and Grill on South Street in Southwest Center City.
