First live matches of new Premier League season confirmed

The match is one of five live games being shown on the opening weekend of the season. Sky Sports will not only be showing Leicester's curtain-raiser that weekend, but also José Mourinho’s first game in charge of Manchester United at Bournemouth, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea at home to West Ham United and Arsenal v Liverpool.

BT Sport meanwhile will be showcasing the first glimpse of Pep Guardiola in the Premier League when Manchester City take on Sunderland.

The following weekend will see the introduction of Friday Night Football when Southampton visit Manchester United. It is hoped that the 8pm kick-off time will provide an extra opportunity for pubs to bring sports fans in regularly on a Friday night. The other Friday night match in the opening months of the season will be Liverpool's visit to Chelsea on 16 September.

Top matches​

Other stand-out games to be shown on TV through August and September are the clash of last season's top two (Arsenal and Leicester) on BT Sport on Saturday, 20 August, at 5.30pm; West Ham's opening game at the Olympic Stadium on Sky Sports on Sunday, 21 August, at 4pm; and the much-anticipated Manchester derby involving Mourinho and Pep Guardiola on Sky Sports on Saturday, 10 September, at 12.30pm. ​

David Rey, managing director at Sky Business, said: “What a way to kick start the new Premier League season on Sky Sports, with 20 exciting games across more days of the week than ever before. It’s our biggest season ever, including 126 Premier League games. All this is great news for our pub customers for the season ahead, helping to attract more customers through the door, staying longer and spending more money throughout the season.”

Bruce Cuthbert, commercial director BT Sport, said: “Pubs and clubs can look forward to showing an exciting start to the Premier League season on BT Sport. We know that our customers are delighted that BT Sport will now be broadcasting matches at 5.30pm on Saturday evenings and these opening games include the first Premier League match for Pep Guardiola, as well as chances to see how Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton perform under their new managers Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Ronald Koeman respectively."

Away from the Premier League, BT Sport will also be showing 351 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League games exclusively live across its channels.

Sky Sports meanwhile have exclusive live rights for 127 matches from the Football League, as well as hundreds of matches from Spain's La Liga, the Eredivisie in the Netherlands and MLS in the US.