FeaturePromoted teams: An in-depth look at Coventry City, Hull City and Ipswich Town
After Liverpool discovered when they will meet the promoted sides with the release of the fixture list, here is all you need to know about them…
Coventry City
Last Premier League campaign: 2000-01
Head coach: Frank Lampard
Home ground: Coventry Building Society Arena
Coventry are back in the top flight after a 25-year absence and a wild ride through the divisions.
Indeed, they were playing their football in League Two less than a decade ago.
One of the Premier League's founding members, the Sky Blues regained their place in it by winning the 2025-26 Championship by an 11-point gap.
Lampard replaced the long-serving Mark Robins in the dugout in November 2024, with the club two points above the relegation zone when he took charge.
Coventry's fortunes turned quickly to climb up the table to finish fifth and reach the play-offs, where they were eliminated by Sunderland.
Nevertheless, they dusted themselves down to ensure that route would not be necessary next time round.
They did not drop out of the top two from September onwards in 2025-26 and confirmed their promotion with three games to spare.
The goals were mostly spread out in the Championship's top scorers – five players reaching double figures – but Haji Wright was the team's leader in this regard with 18.
Coventry's last encounter with Liverpool was at their old home of Highfield Road in April 2001, suffering a 2-0 defeat by late Sami Hyypia and Gary McAllister goals.
Aaron Sutcliffe, Coventry Observer sports editor
"Coventry enjoyed a fairy-tale season last term. Not many punters had Coventry as champions before a ball was kicked but they were deserved league winners and scored 97 goals along the way.
"The Sky Blues picked up huge momentum from an early run of wins and, despite faltering around the busy Christmas and New Year period, rediscovered their best form again to clinch promotion with three games left to play.
"Something really telling about Coventry's squad is that different players produced match-winning moments throughout the season, the club didn't just rely on one player to deliver the goods.
"Frank Lampard's impact has been nothing short of remarkable. He's proved the doubters wrong and Coventry are a totally different proposition under Lampard than they were under Mark Robins, who should be given a lot of credit for the integral role he played in the club's rise.
"Lampard has turned Coventry into a possession-based team but with a stress on quick, dynamic transitions to break at speed, which overwhelmed teams last season. He also likes his team to move the ball out wide quickly to deliver crosses into the box, which is a bit of a throwback but very entertaining to watch.
"He will likely have to show even more tactical flexibility in the Premier League next season but has experience of managing a team in a relegation battle, so he'll have plenty of ideas in terms of how to adapt his current methods to suit top-flight football.
"In terms of the club's expectations for the season ahead, it will no doubt be to simply survive. After how Sunderland and Leeds performed as promoted clubs last season, there's certainly optimism that the Sky Blues will have enough to stay up if they recruit the right players.
"Coventry need to make some big signings with Premier League experience but the club's recruitment has been almost spot on in recent seasons, so there's a lot of faith that the club will get it right in the transfer window.
"To return to the Premier League after 25 years away is an achievement that should not be understated. There is such a feel-good factor around the whole city and club. If Coventry can use that momentum in the early part of the campaign, the club has every chance of surprising a few people next season."
Hull City
Last Premier League campaign: 2016-17
Head coach: Sergej Jakirovic
Home ground: MKM Stadium
Oli McBurnie's late, late goal at Wembley means Hull are back in the Premier League after a decade out.
A tense play-off final versus Middlesbrough last month was decided in the 95th minute by top-scorer McBurnie's close-range finish.
Jakirovic led the club to the promised land in his first season in charge.
It is all the more impressive considering the Bosnian took charge of a side that only maintained their Championship status on goal difference in 2024-25.
They finished sixth in the most recent edition, pipping Wrexham to the last play-off spot on the final day and then beating Millwall in the semi-finals.
Liverpool's Lewis Koumas spent the second half of the campaign on loan with them and scored three goals in his 19 appearances.
When the Tigers were last in the Premier League, with Andy Robertson as their left-back, they avenged a 5-1 loss at Anfield to win the return fixture 2-0 in February 2017.
Stuart Raynor, Yorkshire Post chief football writer
"Hull City's Championship play-off-winning side was battle-hardened and mentally very tough. The personnel when they return to the Premier League will be quite different, but the aim will be to keep those qualities intact.
"Hull did not get out of the second tier by having one of the three most talented squads. They did it by stocking up on experienced pros who have been the course and distance before. And in a season when they were banned from buying players or even paying loan fees for them, it paid big dividends.
"Financial issues are in play again, with the Tigers needing to raise about £6m before the end of June to meet their financial fair play requirements but they should be able to do it. And once that slate is clean, they will set on spending as much of their newly won Premier League money as possible. They have an ambitious chairman in Turkish media mogul Acun Ilicali, and pushing the limits is what has got them to this point in a footballing and financial sense.
"In Sergej Jakirovic, they have a very charismatic coach but a much more pragmatic one than his footballing romantic chairman, who always preaches open, attacking football but was overjoyed when his team sat back, soaked up the pressure and hit Middlesbrough on the counter-attack in the Championship play-off final.
"Jakirovic likes a 4-2-3-1 but is not afraid to go with a back five when he needs to. His team is better when the opposition have more possession, which will come in handy in the Premier League, especially at places like Anfield.
"And although there will be an influx of new faces with his knowledge of Croatian football, head of recruitment Martin Hodges' thick contacts book and Ilicali's love of flair players and knowledge of the Turkish Super Lig all likely to come into play, last season's team will not be jettisoned completely.
"Oli McBurnie is a big centre-forward who likes to get stuck into some wrestling with centre-backs, but has a good touch and is comfortable dropping off.
"Liverpool academy graduate Liam Millar and Mo Belloumi are proper wingers getting back to their best after anterior cruciate knee ligament ruptures in 2024-25. Joe Gelhardt is a No.10 who has shone in the second tier but never made much impact with Leeds United in the top division.
"Charlie Hughes is a highly rated centre-back. Ryan Giles a left-back who likes to get forward and cross in the style of one of his Hull predecessors, Andy Robertson. Regan Slater is one of those unheralded central midfielders whose value is only obvious when he is missing.
"Hull will need plenty of extra quality to prosper in the top division, but they enjoy being written off and will be absolutely determined not to make up the numbers next season."
Ipswich Town
Last Premier League campaign: 2024-25
Head coach: Vacant
Home ground: Portman Road
Kieran McKenna, the man who took Ipswich from League One to the Premier League twice, stood down as manager a fortnight ago.
The 40-year-old's decision to take time away from management came a month or so on from guiding the Tractor Boys to a second-placed finish in the Championship.
His replacement, yet to be announced, will lead the club in its seventh Premier League campaign.
Their most recent one opened with a 2-0 loss to eventual champions Liverpool and ended in relegation by finishing 19th.
McKenna's side restored their top-flight status at the first time of asking, however. They did so with a fine recovery from a slow start, which saw them win just three of their opening 10 matches.
Ipswich edged past Millwall in a nip-and-tuck battle for the second automatic promotion spot by beating Queens Park Rangers 3-0 on the final day.
Defensive midfielder Azor Matusiwa, an arrival from Stade Rennais in July 2025, was voted their Player of the Year.
Stuart Watson, East Anglian Daily Times chief football writer
"Ipswich's first Premier League season in 22 years was a bruising experience. Despite momentum of back-to-back promotions, a £100m+ transfer spend and some encouraging early displays (including a spirited 2-0 home loss to Liverpool on the opening day), the top tier proved unforgiving in terms of quality, depth and athleticism and they ended up with just 22 points to their name.
"How much better are the Blues equipped to take on the challenge this time? Right now, it's impossible to tell. The promotion of 2023-24 was the tale of a 'band of brothers' being underestimated, becoming the neutrals' favourites and beating the odds.
"Last season's promotion was, by contrast, a collection of expensive second-tier stars having a target on their backs. In a weaker-than-usual Championship, the group grew as a gruelling campaign went on and just about got second place over the line. The overriding feeling this time was one of relief.
"A new state-of-the-art training ground, much-expanded scouting network and the promise of another transfer war chest from ambitious American owners underpins a belief that Ipswich are much better equipped to take on the Premier League this time around.
"However, the bombshell that three-time promotion-winning boss Kieran McKenna had quit to take a break from management has the potential to be hugely disruptive. What Sunderland and Leeds achieved as newly promoted clubs last season will give hope. No doubt about it, though, the challenge of staying up is a big one."