How Leeds United’s Premier League fixtures are set and the supercomputer that shapes them | OneFootball

Leeds United discover their 2026/27 Premier League fixtures tomorrow morning, with eyes on the opener, festive dates and the run-in. Fans will also check if the first game is at Elland Road and when Manchester United visit.

According to Leeds Live, global IT firm Atos, headquartered near Paris, compiles the schedule around FIFA windows, UEFA weeks and policing needs. Manchester’s two clubs do not host on the same weekend.

Travel is considered over Christmas and New Year to limit long journeys, and fans are consulted beforehand. Clubs can request an away start if their ground is in use or works must finish, decisions made with local police from around March.

With constraints set, teams go into a pairing grid that maps home and away by matchweek. The conditions are fed into a supercomputer which matches opponents and produces a draft list.

Rules ensure any five-match spell splits three home and two away, or the reverse, and no side plays three straight at home or away. No club starts and finishes with two home or two away games, and Boxing Day and New Year are split where possible.

Premier League, Football League and Atos staff review the output and rerun it if any rule is breached. The process takes almost half a year, with weekend dates set early each year once UEFA, FIFA and the FA confirm windows. Atos also schedules the Championship, League One and League Two.

Source: Leeds Live