Irish Premiership Live Schedule: Title Race Unfolds

The Irish Premiership will take centre stage on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website over the coming months, with 12 live games confirmed in a schedule that tracks the storylines at both ends of the table.

The cameras start rolling at Stangmore Park on Saturday, 10 October, where high-flying Dungannon Swifts host Carrick Rangers in an early litmus test of the Swifts’ credentials under the spotlight. It’s a statement pick: a club on the rise, a tight ground, and a fixture that rarely drifts quietly by.

Larne, the defending champions, step into view next. Their home clash with Coleraine on Friday, 16 October has the feel of a measuring stick for both sides, a night game under lights that usually brings an edge and a few tackles that linger in the memory.

A week later, on Friday, 23 October, the focus shifts to Portadown against Linfield. Portadown’s home support will fancy upsetting one of the league’s heavyweights, but every Linfield game on camera carries the same question: can anyone slow them down when the stakes rise and the audience widens?

Coleraine then become the common thread. On Friday, 30 October, the Bannsiders welcome Glentoran to the Showgrounds, a fixture that rarely lacks drama. By the time they travel to face Linfield at Windsor Park on Saturday, 7 November, viewers will have a clear sense of whether Coleraine are chasing the frontrunners or trying to cling onto them.

November leans heavily into Belfast rivalries. Cliftonville’s home game against Glentoran on Friday, 20 November brings Solitude into the frame, followed a week later by Glentoran v Larne on Friday, 27 November. Two Friday nights, two big-city occasions, and three clubs who all expect to be in the conversation when trophies are handed out.

December opens with a different kind of story. Newly promoted Limavady United get their turn under the lights on Friday, 4 December, when they host early pacesetters Coleraine. It’s the classic cup-tie feel inside a league fixture: a newcomer trying to bloody the nose of an established contender in front of a national audience.

Bangor then welcome Linfield to Clandeboye Park on Friday, 11 December, a tie that should stretch the ground to its limits. Eight days later, on Saturday, 19 December, Linfield are back on screen at Windsor Park against Jim Magilton’s Cliftonville, a game that could carry real weight in the standings as the festive period bites.

The final live stream of 2026 arrives on Tuesday, 29 December, again from Windsor Park, as Linfield and Coleraine meet for the second time in this run of broadcasts. By then, it may feel like a recurring chapter in the title narrative rather than just another fixture.

There is barely time to breathe. The first televised Irish Premiership game of 2026 lands on Saturday, 2 January, when Glentoran face Cliftonville. New year, familiar tension, and another chance for the league to showcase its intensity to a wider audience.