Crystal Palace hand annoying blow for Leeds fans ahead of 2026-27 Premier League season
Leeds United fans will pay the price for European success in the Premier League.
The Whites have maintained their place in the top flight after avoiding a relegation battle with relative ease.
West Ham, Burnley and Wolves ultimately fell into the Championship, leaving Daniel Farke and Co. to prepare for a potential busy summer.
The German head coach now looks set to contend with a strange schedule throughout the upcoming campaign.
Leeds will see plenty of fixture changes next season, something that won’t sit well with matchgoing supporters.
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Crystal Palace join European cohort in the Premier League
The Elland Road outfit are one of few sides in the entire division who had little riding on the final weeks of the campaign.
Relegation was avoided after Arsenal defeated West Ham on 10 May, leaving no concerns for the final three games of the season.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| 11/05/26 | Tottenham (A) | 1-1 (D) |
| 17/05/26 | Brighton (H) | 1-0 (W) |
| 24/05/26 | West Ham (A) | 3-0 (L) |
That couldn’t be said about many sides, with European qualification on the table for three different sides to try and secure.
Bournemouth, Sunderland and Brighton took the glory through the Premier League before Crystal Palace won the Conference League to also seal a Europa League place.
Crystal Palace, Champions of Europe ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/IH4xFdMA3V
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) May 27, 2026
That means that nine English teams will feature in European competition next season, with four of those playing on Thursday nights.
As exciting as that would be for those sides, it will force Leeds to play at unfavourable kick-off times in the Premier League on a regular basis.
Leeds United fans forced into regular Monday Night Football next season
With so many sides set to play on Thursday next season, it instantly blocks them off from playing Friday and Saturday football on those weeks.
That opens the door to Sunday and Monday games, with Leeds, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Everton and Tottenham to face that problem without the benefit of European football.
The Elland Road faithful who travel home and away every week will be watching much more Monday Night Football, which certainly isn’t ideal.
It also means the traditional Saturday 3pm kick-off could be a thing of the past, as there will be fewer games available for those dates.
The Premier League currently have a guideline set that only five games per team can be moved to either Friday or Monday, but European football can act as a caveat for that rule.
Leeds can expect an extremely disrupted fixture list and plenty of late nights for those travelling away from LS11.
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