Premier League 2 fixtures: Man City begin title defence at Chelsea

See the fixtures for the new PL2 season as champions face a challenging opening match The fixtures for the 2025/26 Premier League 2 season have been released. PL2 champions Manchester City will begin their title defence with an away match against two-time competition winners Chelsea on Monday 18 August. Man City's Under-21 side won their fourth Premier League 2 (PL2) title in five seasons when they beat Southampton 2-0 in the 2024/25 playoff final in May, having scored a competition-high 61 goals. All the fixtures for 2025/26 are available now on our Premier League 2 fixtures page. There are 29 teams participating in PL2 this season, with Birmingham City, Burnley and Ipswich Town all being added to the 26 who played in the competition in 2024/25. The competition format is explained here. Premier League 2 Matchweek 1 fixtures Friday 15 August 19:00 Arsenal v Fulham19:00 Aston Villa v Leeds19:00 Birmingham v Stoke19:00 Ipswich v Derby19:00 Norwich v Reading Sunday 17 August 15:00 Newcastle v Southampton16:00 Brighton v West Brom Monday 18 August 19:00 Burnley v Wolves19:00 Chelsea v Man City19:00 Everton v Blackburn19:00 Leicester v Liverpool19:00 Middlesborough v Man Utd19:00 Sunderland v Spurs19:00 West Ham v Nott'm Forest2024/25 Premier League 2 roll of honour Overall champions: Manchester CityPlayer of the season: Jahmai Simpson-Pusey (Man City)Top scorer: Divin Mubama (Man City) 17 goals