Irish Premiership Winter Schedule: Live Fixtures on BBC
The Irish Premiership’s title race, old grudges and fresh storylines will all play out under the glare of the BBC cameras over the coming months, with 12 live fixtures confirmed for BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
It starts at Stangmore Park, where the cameras catch one of the league’s early surprise packages. On Saturday, 10 October, high-flying Dungannon Swifts host Carrick Rangers in a game that will test whether the Swifts’ bright start has real staying power or is just an early-season surge.
From there, the spotlight swings quickly onto the champions.
Champions, challengers and old rivalries
Defending Irish Premiership winners Larne step into prime time on Friday, 16 October, when they face Coleraine. It’s the first of several key outings for the Bannsiders, who will have to navigate a demanding run in front of a national audience.
Seven days later, on Friday, 23 October, Portadown welcome Linfield. For Portadown, it’s a chance to bloody the nose of one of the league’s traditional powerhouses. For Linfield, it’s the sort of away night that often separates contenders from also-rans.
The pressure then shifts to the Showgrounds. On Friday, 30 October, Coleraine host Glentoran in a fixture that rarely passes quietly. Coleraine’s calendar only gets tougher: their trip to Windsor Park to face Linfield on Saturday, 7 November will also be streamed, another test of their credentials against a side that expects to be in the title conversation every season.
November belongs to the Belfast giants. Cliftonville’s home clash with Glentoran on Friday, 20 November, then Glentoran’s meeting with Larne a week later on Friday, 27 November, both go live. Those two games could reshape the top end of the table before winter truly bites, with Larne looking to assert the authority of champions and the Glens eager to prove they belong in that same bracket.
New faces, familiar stages
December opens with a different kind of story. Newly promoted Limavady United get their moment under the lights when they host early pacesetters Coleraine on Friday, 4 December. It’s the classic Premiership script: ambitious newcomers against an established force, with the cameras capturing every misstep and breakthrough.
Bangor then step into view on Friday, 11 December, welcoming Linfield to Clandeboye Park. It’s a big night for the home side and another potential banana skin for the Blues, who must handle the weight of expectation in grounds where the margins are tight and the atmosphere unforgiving.
Linfield stay firmly in the frame. On Saturday, 19 December, they host Jim Magilton’s Cliftonville at Windsor Park, a meeting of two clubs with serious ambitions and a manager whose name adds extra intrigue to an already charged fixture.
The final live game of 2026 follows the same thread. On Tuesday, 29 December, Windsor Park again provides the backdrop as Linfield take on Coleraine, closing the calendar year with a clash that could have direct implications for the title race or European places.
And then, barely time to breathe.
New year, same intensity
The first Irish Premiership stream of 2026 arrives on Saturday, 2 January, when Glentoran face Cliftonville. New year, same rivalry, and a perfect fixture to set the tone for the second half of the season.
Across these 12 games, the cameras will catch champions defending their crown, challengers making their case and newcomers trying to prove they belong. Every miscontrolled touch, every late tackle, every decisive goal will be there to be replayed, argued over and remembered.
The schedule is set. Now it’s up to the players to turn it into a season-defining reel.
