With the World Cup having only recently concluded, Premier League clubs are already deep into their 2026/27 preseason programmes. The calendar is tight, the travel is heavy and the purpose is clear: get players ready, test combinations and give new faces a chance to make an early impression.

Arsenal, the reigning champions, are among the later starters. Their first friendly comes on Aug. 1 against Girona in Catalonia, before further meetings with Real Betis, Borussia Dortmund and Como. They will then face Manchester City in the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Aston Villa have already opened with a 5-0 win over Walsall and continue across Europe and Asia, while Bournemouth began with a 4-1 victory against St. Pauli. Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion both have short schedules remaining, with each taking on European opposition in mid-August.

Chelsea’s first run under new manager Xabi Alonso takes them to Australia for matches against Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, before trips through Hong Kong, Jakarta and Malaysia. Their final friendly is against Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge.

Elsewhere, Everton have mixed early results and face a demanding route through Scotland, Germany and home soil before meeting Lille. Fulham also have work to do after a behind-closed-doors defeat to Norwich City. Hull City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City all have their own preparations mapped out, while Crystal Palace have already played twice and continue with fixtures in Italy and Germany.

Liverpool’s schedule includes a United States tour against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United, followed by Monaco and two games against Como on Aug. 16. Manchester City are taking a lighter approach, starting with Inter in Hong Kong before facing the K-League All-Stars, Atlético Madrid and Arsenal. Manchester United, meanwhile, have already lost to Wrexham and beaten Rosenborg 5-0, with Atlético Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United and Milan still to come.

Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur also remain busy, with each club using these final weeks to sharpen up before the league begins.

Brighton & Hove Albion have been left adjusting their pre-season schedule after local fields were used as helicopter landing pads for a major summit in the town.

President Donald Trump, the president of France Emmanuel Macron and former U.K. prime minister Sir Keir Starmer were among the world leaders involved in the three-day Group of Seven summit last month. The event brought extra demands on the area, with the fields repurposed ahead of the meetings of the democracies that make up the G7: France, Italy, Germany, U.K., U.S., Japan and Canada.

That has now forced Brighton to change their plans before the new Premier League season begins on Aug. 21. Fabian Hürzeler’s squad trained at the club’s headquarters in Lancing, West Sussex on Friday, but their preparations will now continue abroad.

The team are set to leave this weekend for an alternative training camp in Austria, where they will complete the next phase of their build-up.

The disruption has already had a direct impact on their fixture schedule. Saturday’s friendly against FC Annecy, a French Ligue 2 side, has been cancelled.

There is, however, no change to the next scheduled closed-door match. Brighton’s friendly against Ligue 1 club Strasbourg is still due to go ahead on Aug. 1.

For Brighton, the issue has been less about footballing opposition and more about logistics, with the demands of the summit leaving them to reshape their pre-season routine at a key point in the summer.

The Premier League has set out a revised suite of on-field principles ahead of the 2026–27 season aimed at addressing several contentious themes from 2025–26. The league said referees and match officials will follow the new regulations to reduce cynical play while retaining a high threshold for intervention. “Not every contact is a foul,” the statement said.

Holding and deliberate obstruction are the primary targets. Defenders who focus solely on blocking or holding opponents with no regard for the ball will be penalized, and players deliberately impeding the goalkeeper will also be punished. The intent behind actions will be judged, with officials instructed to act where there is a calculated attempt to prevent a player from playing the ball.

The directive responds to what the league described as widespread physicality from set-pieces, a feature that helped champions Arsenal. The issue prompted Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hürzeler to bring a Mixed Martial Arts fighter to training to teach his side how to cope.

Timewasting is another focus. Behaviours from feigning injury to prolonging substitutions and delaying restarts can now be sanctioned under rules similar to those used at this summer’s World Cup. Any player who receives on-field treatment must leave the pitch for at least one minute, twice the previous guidance. Deliberate delays to throw-ins and goal-kicks will face a five-second countdown and can result in a reversal of the decision in favour of the opposing team.

Substitution procedure has been tightened. A player must exit within 10 seconds of their number being raised by the official. If they exceed that period, the substitute may only enter the field at the first stoppage after one minute of play.

Hair pulling will remain a sending-off offence when malice, excessive force or brutality is evident, but officials will again consider intent and may issue a yellow when excessive force is not present. Of last season’s three red cards for hair pulling, the league noted Dan Ballard’s dismissal might have avoided a straight red, Michael Keane’s red would likely still stand and Lisandro Martínez’s case fell between those examples.

The plan with VAR is to limit its involvement. The system will not be used to correct corner decisions and there will be no intervention to recommend second yellow cards.