The 2026–27 season of the NIFL Premiership is the 19th campaign under this format and the 126th season of Irish League football overall. The winner of the 2026–27 NIFL Premiership will lift the Gibson Cup and qualify for the first qualifying round of the 2027–28 UEFA Champions League .
Last season's title race went down to the final day, with Larne edging out Coleraine by three points to win their third Gibson Cup in four seasons. Glenavon's relegation and Limavady United's promotion from the Championship are the only changes to the division this time round.
Schedule
Premiership Schedule
OPENING WEEKEND: Friday 7th – Sunday 9th August Matchdays 1–22: every club plays the other eleven home and away Matchdays 23–33: a third meeting with every other side Matchdays 34–38: the table splits into a top-six Section A and bot///om-six Section B, with each club completing its campaign against the other five sides in its own half Season concludes: late April 2027
Odds
NIFL Premiership 26/27 Outright Odds
Club | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
Coleraine | 10/11 | 52.4% |
Linfield | 4/1 | 20% |
Larne | 4/1 | 20% |
Glentoran | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Cliftonville | 33/1 | 2.9% |
Bar | 50/1 | 2% |
Favourites
NIFL Premiership 2026–27 Favourites
Coleraine
Coleraine – 10/11
Coleraine head the outright market at 10/11, as Ruaidhrí Higgins's side aim to go one better than last season and land only the second Gibson Cup in the club's history, in what is also Coleraine's centenary year.
The Bannsiders pushed Larne all the way in 2025–26, finishing runners-up by just three points despite actually outscoring the champions, 83 goals to 73, and they went one better in the cup, beating Dungannon Swifts in the Irish Cup final. Higgins has strengthened over the summer, with Northern Ireland international Conor McMenamin arriving from St Mirren , Ben Doherty in from Derry City , and further additions in Jay Henderson , Aidan Wilson and loanees Conrad Hunt and Rob Slevin, though chief executive Dale Pryde-MacDonald has been clear the club won't “throw bucketloads of cash” at the market.
The one concern is fitness, with an injury list already including captain Mark Coyle before a ball's been kicked, though Higgins can still call on Joel Cooper, who won Player of the Year in 24/25 and scored 21 league goals in his first season at The Showgrounds and scored in the Irish Cup final. Higgins says his side must “strive for success” and they certainly look the team to beat.
Linfield
Linfield – 4/1
Linfield are joint second favourites at 4/1 with David Healy to bring the Gibson Cup back to Windsor Park after a mediocre 25/26 campaign.
After winning the title by 22 points in 24/25 last season, they fell to fourth, finishing 11 points off third, but did land the BetMcLean League Cup, defeating Glentoran for their13th triumph in that competition. It has been a summer of serious upheaval at Windsor Park , with around a dozen players shown the door, five of them following former Linfield man Oran Kearney to Ballymena United , while Healy brought in Ryan Nolan , Kobei Moore , Aiden Glavin and Dylan Wells to freshen things up.
Healy was strongly linked with the Shelbourne job over the summer, but he denied any formal talks taking place. With Joel Cooper departing for Coleraine, it’ll be a huge season for Kieran Offord, who was injured for a large part of last season. Though they will have Conference League qualifiers to navigate, the league is the main event, and they can never be ruled out of adding to their 57 league titles.
Larne
Larne – 4/1
Larne are also 4/1 with Gary Haveron's side looking to defend the Gibson Cup that they won on the final day last season, a third title in four campaigns.
The champions took a serious hit over the summer with the departure of Andy Ryan , who returned to Scotland after scoring 70 goals in 121 appearances and playing a central role in Larne's recent dominance. Haveron has moved to freshen his forward line with Montel Gibson and Kevin O'Hara, a creative forward arriving from Hamilton Academical alongside Northern Ireland international Sam McClelland and winger Josh Ukek.
The Inver Reds are already up and running in Champions League qualifying, having beaten Tre Fiori of San Marino before a daunting tie with Red Star Belgrade . One gap in their cabinet is an Irish Cup , and Haveron makes no secret of wanting to put that right alongside defending the title this season. The key to retaining their title will be if they replace the output of Andy Ryan , and though difficult, they should be respected.
Glentoran
Glentoran – 5/1
Glentoran are next in the market at 5/1 with Declan Devine looking to guide the club to their first league title at The Oval since 2009.
The Glens finished third last season but will feel it should have been better, with a chastening 6-2 defeat at Coleraine on the final day costing them second place. They're back in Europe for the first time since 2023 on the back of that finish, and Devine has again recruited shrewdly, with Greg Sloggett , Ben Gallagher and Jack Malone the headline arrivals, though long-serving academy graduate Aaron Wightman departed among five first-team departures.
Devine has previously pointed to the scale of investment at Coleraine , Larne and Linfield as the level Glentoran must match to compete, and while few would begrudge the Glens a first title since 2009, the east Belfast side will again be relying on recruitment over financial muscle to close the gap. A talented, well-run squad, but they were arguably the third-best team in the country last season too, and something will need to change to go one better.
Cliftonville
Cliftonville – 33/1
Cliftonville are huge outsiders with odds of 33/1, with Jim Magilton looking to put a difficult 2025–26 behind him.
Magilton himself called last season “a really poor season and a lot of what-ifs,” one in which Cliftonville lost the County Antrim Shield final on penalties, fell in the European play-off semi-final to Dungannon Swifts , and finished fifth in the table without European football to show for it. He's still been busy in the market, bringing in eight new faces including Scottish pair Dean McMaster and Alex Bannon , though he's been candid that Ireland's oldest football club must “cut our cloth accordingly” given the finances at Solitude .
Those finances remain clouded by a long-running takeover saga, with a prospective deal involving the Toronto Investment Group having collapsed before members voted to reopen talks, leaving Cliftonville's wait for fresh investment unresolved heading into the new campaign. There's too much uncertainty off the pitch for Cliftonville to be taken seriously at these odds, though Magilton has shown before he can make a limited budget competitive.
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Bill is as passionate about Irish football as they come, with an agonising longing to see his country grace a World Cup stage. A League of Ireland devotee and lifelong Man United fan, he knows better than most what sporting heartbreak feels like, and brings that perspective to the BOYLE Sports Blog. With roots in greyhound racing and a curiosity spanning politics, snooker, WWE and beyond, there is rarely a sporting conversation he cannot add to.
