Everton's 2026/27 Premier League Schedule: Key Dates and Early Challenges

Everton’s 2026/27 Premier League journey will begin on familiar ground and under immediate scrutiny. Crystal Palace come to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday August 22, a home opener that offers David Moyes a clean slate and a chance to set the tone after last season’s 13th-place finish.

No easing in, though. Once Palace are out of the way, Everton head straight to Bournemouth before Manchester United arrive on Merseyside in early September. A new campaign, and within three games Moyes is already measuring his squad against a traditional heavyweight.

Early tests and old faces

The calendar has thrown Everton a curious mix in the opening stretch. By mid-October they will have already faced all three promoted clubs, a run that could define whether this season feels like a push forward or another year of treading water.

Ipswich Town visit on September 19, the first of those newly promoted tests. The narrative sharpens on November 7, when Coventry City and a familiar figure arrive at the Hill Dickinson. Frank Lampard, once in the Everton dugout and now leading Coventry, returns to Goodison territory with a point to prove and a promoted side eager to show it belongs.

Hull City away on October 10 completes the trio of early meetings with the new boys. They sit alongside heavyweight assignments: Tottenham away on September 12, Chelsea at home on October 17 and Arsenal at the Emirates a week later. By the end of October, Everton will know exactly how hard this road might be.

Derby revenge ringed in red

One date stands out above the rest. November 28. Liverpool at home.

Everton’s stoppage-time defeat in last season’s Merseyside derby still lingers, and the fixture list has granted Moyes and his players a shot at revenge before the turn of the year. The Hill Dickinson will be braced for a ferocious afternoon, the first derby of the season arriving just as the nights draw in and the stakes rise.

The return meeting at Anfield is pencilled in for January 30. By then, the shape of both clubs’ seasons will be clearer, but derbies tend to ignore context. Everton will not want a repeat of last year’s late heartbreak on either side of Stanley Park.

Festive fire and a brutal New Year

Everton supporters will spend Boxing Day at home, Sunderland the visitors in what could be a pivotal festive fixture. It comes at the end of a demanding December that sends Moyes’ side to Aston Villa, Brighton and Nottingham Forest, with Fulham at home in between.

Then comes the hammer blow: Manchester City at the Hill Dickinson on December 30, under the lights at 8pm. A title contender rolling into town between Christmas and New Year is hardly a gentle way to close out the calendar year. For Everton, it is an opportunity to shock the league – or a night that could expose any lingering weaknesses.

The New Year offers no respite. Leeds away on January 2, Villa at home on January 6, Coventry away on the 16th, Brentford at home on the 23rd, and then that Anfield derby on January 30. Five league games, four different styles of opponent, and a derby that can tilt the mood of a season in 90 minutes.

Spring grind and heavyweight run-in

February and March look like months that will test Everton’s resilience as much as their quality. Newcastle at home on February 6, a midweek Leeds clash at the Hill Dickinson on the 10th, then Sunderland away and Nottingham Forest at home. These are the kind of fixtures that decide whether a side looks up the table or over its shoulder.

March sharpens the edge again. An away trip to Manchester City on March 3, followed by Manchester United at Old Trafford on March 13. Tottenham come to Merseyside a week later. Three matches, three clubs with top-four ambitions, and a clear bar for where Everton truly stand.

The run-in is laced with danger and opportunity. April brings Crystal Palace away, Bournemouth at home and Brighton at home – fixtures that, on paper, Everton will target. May, though, is ruthless: Fulham away, Hull at home, Chelsea away, Arsenal at home and, on the final day, Ipswich at Portman Road on May 30.

An away finale against a promoted side fighting for survival or chasing a dream can be treacherous. Everton may arrive in Suffolk chasing their own target – European qualification, mid-table consolidation, or something more anxious.

Key dates that frame the season

The league campaign kicks off on August 22, but the domestic cups will carve their own storylines into Everton’s season. The FA Cup third round lands on January 9, just as the league schedule tightens and the Anfield derby looms at the end of the month. The Carabao Cup final is set for March 21, with the FA Cup final on May 22.

For Moyes, the picture is clear. A home start, early duels with the promoted trio, a derby shot at redemption in late November and a punishing stretch against the league’s elite either side of the new year.

The fixtures are on the board. The question now is whether Everton can turn this demanding schedule into a platform for progress, or whether another season of frustration is already written between those dates.