Ipswich Town were scheduled to play Sunderland in the 2026–27 Premier League opening round.
The fixture was listed for Saturday 22 August 2026, with Ipswich Town at home and Sunderland travelling. It was one of three matches scheduled for the standard 15:00 Saturday kick-off.
Ipswich were returning to the Premier League after a one-year absence. Their immediate return placed them back in the top flight alongside Sunderland, another club with a substantial English football tradition.
The match was one of three opening-round fixtures involving a newly promoted side. The other promoted clubs had different assignments: Coventry City were away to defending champions Arsenal, while Hull City hosted Manchester United. This made Ipswich versus Sunderland a particularly useful fixture for identifying the promoted teams in the first round.