Liverpool travels to Newcastle for Premier League 2026/27 opener, missing Salah and Guimarães

Some season openers carry more weight than others. This Sunday, August 23, Liverpool travels to St. James' Park to kick off the 2026/27 Premier League season against a Newcastle side that no longer has Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali or Anthony Gordon. On the other side, Mohamed Salah is also absent. English football begins with two teams that need to reinvent themselves at almost the same time.

Kickoff is set for 12:30 pm (Argentina and Uruguay time) and 10:30 am (Ecuador, Colombia and Peru), with coverage for South America available through Disney+'s Premium plan.

What's happening at Liverpool is not just a change of name on the bench. After a season that left fans wanting more, the club handed the keys to Andoni Iraola, and the mission now is to recapture a title that already feels distant at Anfield. The starting point is not easy: without Salah, the attacking burden falls on Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, two players the club spent enormous sums on last season and who now need to turn that investment into pure production. Keep an eye as well on Rio Ngumoha, the young winger who looks like one of the fresh names worth tracking closely as the season gets underway.

A Newcastle side rebuilding from scratch

At Newcastle, the summer brought painful goodbyes. Losing Tonali, Guimarães and Gordon in one stroke forces a rethink of much of the team, and on top of that comes a change on the bench: Matthias Jaissle takes over following the Eddie Howe era, a recent symbol for the fan base. To hold the level, the home side will lean on the talent and experience of William Osula, Jacob Murphy and Dan Burn, three players tasked with anchoring the structure while the rest of the squad finds its footing.

Preseason did not do much to build confidence in the north of England: Newcastle managed just two wins against four losses and a draw in its friendlies, and closed out preparation by falling on penalties to Strasbourg. Liverpool, by contrast, arrives with better vibes: three wins, a draw and two losses in preparation, closing out with an encouraging 2-0 win over Como.

The recent head-to-head record also favors Liverpool's mood. In matchday 24 of last season's Premier League, Liverpool thrashed Newcastle 4-1 at home, with a brace from Hugo Ekitike, a goal from Wirtz and another from Ibrahima Konaté, while Gordon, now on the Newcastle side rather than as a teammate, scored the consolation goal for Howe's side.

With two managers making their debuts at their respective clubs and two squads still searching for their identity, St. James' Park hosts a match that promises more uncertainty than certainty. And in the opening round, that's always good news for anyone watching from the outside.