Three Premier League matches were scheduled for Sunday 23 August 2026.
The Sunday programme consisted of Brighton & Hove Albion versus Aston Villa, Manchester City versus AFC Bournemouth, and Newcastle United versus Liverpool. Two matches were listed for 14:00 UK time, followed by the later Newcastle–Liverpool fixture at 16:30.
This made Sunday the second-busiest day of the opening round by match count. Saturday had five scheduled fixtures, while Friday and Monday each had one. Together, those four days made up the complete ten-match opening round.
The Sunday line-up included clubs from several parts of England and paired two established Premier League fixtures with the eye-catching meeting at St James’ Park. It also featured Manchester City’s first match of the campaign and Brighton’s home opener against Aston Villa.
Counting the matches by date is important because the opening round was spread across a Friday-to-Monday schedule rather than being played on one conventional weekend day.