The real thing, actual Premier League regular season fixtures, are now here. No more preseason, no more “curtain raisers.” Arsenal, the reigning league champions and now also Community Shield winners, will host newly promoted Coventry City in the 2026-27 season’s very first game.
Friday night is a great night for football, so the Emirates Stadium will be rocking for this one.
Premier League Season Opener FYIs
Arsenal FC vs Coventry
Friday, Aug. 21, 8pm BST
Emirates Stadium, London, UK
Arsenal Preview Material: Team News Predicted Starting Lineup
Result Probability According to Google: Arsenal Wins 82% a Draw 12% Coventry City Wins 6%
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should be able to start pretty much everybody who experienced deep runs with their respective nations during the World Cup.
The only exception would be William Saliba, of course. We would say Jurrien Timber as well, but he exited Netherlands camp early, and the Dutch team itself was bounced much earlier than expected. However, pretty much everyone else is at match fit levels right now.
So this is what we think the best option for a starting lineup would be right now.
Arsenal Predicted Starting XI vs Coventry City
David Raya; Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori; Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Christos Tzolis; Kai Havertz
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.