Big Daily Echo Premier League preview – Transfers, Europe and every team profiled
Rose aiming at result at City on opening day
CBS on Cherries return and being ready for November
Cherries head to City to get Premier League season underway – Team news and preview
Rose indicated the squad is in good shape with keeping players a priority
Transfers
Possibly the most significant summer changes for Bournemouth occurred in the managerial department. Andoni Iraola left the club when his contract expired at the end of the previous campaign, moving to Liverpool, with Marco Rose appointed as his successor.
Iraola was accompanied by Tommy Elphick, Shaun Cooper, Pablo de la Torre and Tom Webber to Merseyside, while Rose has recruited his own set of assistants along with additional appointments to the coaching team.
(Image: NQ)
Marco Kurth, Fabian Fredrich, Frank Geideck, Patrick Eibenberger, Frederick de Boever, Charlie Philpott and Nicolas Gagnon comprise Rose’s backroom setup.
In terms of players, Marcos Senesi departed when his contract concluded, signing for Spurs, while Enes Unal has returned to Getafe and Alex Jimenez, who remains suspended and under investigation by the FA, has moved to Fiorentina on loan.
Forward Alvaro Rodriguez has arrived from Elche for £21million plus bonuses, centre back Antonio Silva has come in from Benfica for €25m plus €5m in additional payments, and right back Juanlu Sanchez has signed from Sevilla for £9.5m with a possible £1.7m in add-ons.
Competitions
The Cherries will participate across four competitions this term, featuring in the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup.
The league campaign commences this weekend, while they enter the Europa League at the league phase stage, which gets underway in September.
They will join the FA Cup at the third round stage in January, and the League Cup also at the third round, which takes place in September.
Key Europa League dates
The initial significant date for Cherries supporters to note is the league phase draw, scheduled for Friday, August 28 in Monaco.
This will commence at 12pm UK time, and coverage of the draw will be available on the Daily Echo website.
(Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire)
The opening matchday occurs across Wednesday, September 16 and Thursday, September 17, with all following fixtures scheduled for Thursday evenings.
This means a minimum of eight of Bournemouth’s league matches will be moved to Sundays to allow for the schedule changes.
Should the Cherries secure a top eight finish in the league phase, they progress directly to the round of 16.
If Bournemouth qualifies but finishes outside the top eight of the league phase, they will then contest a playoff match, before proceeding to the round of 16 should they win that. The competition then adopts a straightforward knockout format, with home and away legs for each round.
Matchday 1: September 16-17, 2026.
Matchday 2: October 15, 2026.
Matchday 3: October 22, 2026.
Matchday 4: November 5, 2026.
Matchday 5: November 26, 2026.
Matchday 6: December 10, 2026.
Matchday 7: January 21, 2027.
Matchday 8: January 28, 2027.
Playoff draw: January 29, 2027.
Playoff matches: February 18 and 25, 2027.
Round of 16 draw: February 26, 2027.
Round of 16 matches: March 11 and 18, 2027.
Quarterfinals: April 8 and 15, 2027.
Semifinals: April 29 and May 6, 2027.
Final: May 26, 2027.
Fixtures
Sunday, August 23: Manchester City (A)
Saturday, August 29: Everton (H)
Saturday, September 5: Newcastle United (A)
Wednesday, September 9: Carabao Cup round three – Cherries enter the competition
Saturday, September 12: Brentford (H)
September 16-17: Europa League matchday one
Saturday, September 19: Liverpool (H)
Saturday, October 10: Chelsea (A)
Thursday, October 15: Europa League matchday two
Saturday, October 17: Sunderland (H)
Thursday, October 22: Europa League matchday three
Saturday, October 24: Manchester United (A)
(Image: PA)
Wednesday, October 28: Carabao Cup round four
Saturday, October 31: Leeds United (H)
Thursday, November 5: Europa League matchday four
Saturday, November 7: Ipswich Town (A)
Saturday, November 21: Nottingham Forest (H)
Thursday, November 26: Europa League matchday five
Saturday, November 28: Fulham (A)
Wednesday, December 2: Brighton & Hove Albion (H)
Saturday, December 5: Hull City (H)
Thursday, December 10: Europa League matchday six
Saturday, December 12: Arsenal (A)
(Image: PA Wire)
Wednesday, December 16: Carabao Cup round five
Saturday, December 19: Coventry City (H)
Saturday, December 26: Tottenham Hotspur (A)
Wednesday, December 30: Crystal Palace (A)
Saturday, January 2: Aston Villa (H)
Wednesday, January 6: Brighton & Hove Albion (A)
Saturday, January 9: FA Cup third round
Wednesday, January 13: Carabao Cup semifinal (1)
Saturday, January 16: Ipswich Town (H)
Thursday, January 21: Europa League matchday seven
Saturday, January 23: Nottingham Forest (A)
(Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
Thursday, January 28: Europa League matchday eight
Saturday, January 30: Fulham (H)
Wednesday, February 3: Carabao Cup semifinal (2)
Saturday, February 6: Leeds United (A)
Wednesday, February 10: Aston Villa (A)
Saturday, February 13: FA Cup fourth round
Thursday, February 18: Europa League play-off one
Saturday, February 20: Crystal Palace (H)
Thursday, February 25: Europa League play-off two
Saturday, February 27: Coventry City (A)
Wednesday, March 3: Tottenham Hotspur (H)
Saturday, March 6: FA Cup fifth round
Thursday, March 11: Europa League round of 16 one
Saturday, March 13: Newcastle United (H)
Thursday, March 18: Europa League round of 16 two
Saturday, March 20: Brentford (A)
Sunday, March 21: Carabao Cup final
Saturday, April 3: FA Cup sixth round
Thursday, April 8: Europa League quarterfinal one
(Image: Richard Crease)
Saturday, April 10: Manchester City (H)
Thursday, April 15: Europa League quarterfinal two
Saturday, April 17: Everton (A)
Saturday, April 24: Arsenal (H) (FA Cup semifinal)
Thursday, April 29: Europa League semifinal one
Saturday, May 1: Hull City (A)
Thursday, May 6: Europa League semifinal two
Saturday, May 8: Manchester United (H)
Saturday, May 15: Sunderland (A)
Saturday, May 22: FA Cup Final
Sunday, May 23: Chelsea (H)
Wednesday, May 26: Europa League final
Sunday, May 30: Liverpool (A)
(Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
International breaks
There will be one fewer international break this season, as the September and October breaks from previous seasons have been combined into one extended break at the end of September and beginning of October.
There will then be one in November and one in March 2027.
Monday, September 21 to Tuesday, October 6.
Monday, November 9 to Tuesday, November 17.
Monday, March 22 to Tuesday, March 30, 2027.