Why there are eight Premier League matches live on TV this weekend – but no Manchester United or Arsenal
Premier League football fans are facing a bumper weekend of games on TV.
The Premier League returns with the seventh round of matches in the 2025/26 season – and a wide slate of live televised games to savour.
Eight of this weekend's 10 matches will be shown live across Sky Sports and TNT Sports, predominantly on Saturday or Sunday.
The match week begins with high-flying Bournemouth up against Fulham at the Vitality Stadium on Friday Night Football live on Sky Sports.
Saturday lunchtime sees Leeds host Tottenham on TNT Sports, while Sky boast the standard evening kick-off – a firecracker blue-versus-red Chelsea versus Liverpool showdown.
Premier League on TV this weekend
Friday 3rd October
- Bournemouth v Fulham (8pm) Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Premier League
Saturday 4th October
- Leeds v Tottenham (12:30pm) TNT Sports 1
- Chelsea v Liverpool (5:30pm) Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Premier League
Sunday 5th October
- Aston Villa v Burnley (2pm) Sky Sports+
- Newcastle v Nottingham Forest (2pm) Sky Sports Main Event
- Wolves v Brighton (2pm) Sky Sports Mix
- Everton v Crystal Palace (2pm) Sky Sports Premier League
- Brentford v Manchester City (4:30pm) Sky Sports Premier League / Main Event
That's where the usual pattern ends. There will be four matches in the 2pm slot on Sunday afternoon, followed by Manchester City's trip to Brentford to wrap up the weekend in the Super Sunday 4:30pm slot.
The reason for the additional Sunday matches is the sheer number of Premier League teams involved in European competitions this season.
Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa were involved in the Europa League on Thursday, plus Crystal Palace competed in the Conference League, meaning their three matches were shifted onto Sunday's plate. Wolves versus Brighton was already scheduled for the 2pm slot in the initial fixtures announcement.
The above amounts to eight live televised matches to soak up this weekend, yet two of the Premier League's star attractions have fallen through the cracks.
Arsenal and Manchester United's clashes against West Ham and Sunderland respectively will fall into the traditional 3pm Saturday slot behind the blackout.
It's a blow to the Gunners' fans as their team begins to heat up and could go top of the table with a victory.
Maybe it's a blessing in disguise for United fans, who have only witnessed nine wins from 33 Premier League matches under the stewardship of Ruben Amorim.
Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
