Who are the opening-day kings?
Manchester United and Leicester raise the curtain on a new Premier League season on Friday night, with the division’s 18 other outfits all in action on Saturday or Sunday. But which teams can expect a winning start, and who should fear an early loss?
In this slideshow, we use data from bookmakers.tv to rank all 20 top-flight sides by their opening-day performances over the last 10 seasons.
20. Newcastle (7 points, -11)
Newcastle fans have several reasons to be disgruntled at present, with Mike Ashley’s continued ownership of the club leaving the St James’ Park faithful frustrated. And things may get worse before they get better: the Magpies, who face Tottenham on Saturday, have the Premier League’s worst opening-game record in the last 10 years.
Newcastle have won just one of their first fixtures of the season in that time, drawing four and losing five – including 2013/14's 4-0 thumping by Manchester City in which Steven Taylor was sent off.
19. Crystal Palace (8 points, -5)
Fulham will fancy their chances of overcoming Crystal Palace on Saturday given that their opponents have lost six of their last seven opening-day assignments. The exception was a 3-1 win at Norwich in 2015/16, but the Eagles have tended to hit the ground trudging in the last 10 years.
Curiously, this weekend’s encounter at Craven Cottage will be the third season in a row where Palace have faced a newly promoted side in their first game. This time last year, Frank de Boer’s tenure got off to a dismal start with a 3-0 home loss to Huddersfield.
18. Everton (10 points, -5)
Everton may be towards the bottom of this ranking, but they’re actually unbeaten in their last six opening-day matches. Four of those games (against Tottenham, Watford, Leicester and Norwich) were drawn, but the Toffees beat Manchester United in 2012 and Stoke in 2017.
In fact, the Merseysiders haven’t lost on the opening weekend since a 1-0 defeat by Blackburn in 2010, with their scheduled bow against Tottenham in 2011/12 postponed because of riots in Liverpool. A 6-1 demolition by Arsenal in August 2009 explains their negative goal difference.
17. Southampton (10 points, -1)
Southampton have drawn their last three games on the opening weekend, after losing 2-1 to Liverpool in 2014 following a summer in which the Reds had prised Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert away from St Mary’s.
Saints have triumphed in just two of their last 10 season debuts, a 1-0 victory over West Brom in 2013 and a 3-1 success against Leeds in their Championship promotion campaign of 2011/12. Mark Hughes will be keen to make it three wins from 11 when his side lock horns with Burnley on Sunday.
16. Bournemouth (11 points, 0)
Bournemouth are still awaiting their first point on the opening weekend since securing promotion to the Premier League, having lost to West Brom (2017), Manchester United (2016) and Aston Villa (2015) at the start of their three campaigns at this level.
The Cherries did get off to a flying start in 2014/15, thrashing Huddersfield 4-0 en route to the Championship title, and were also victorious on the opening day of their League Two promotion-winning season in 2009/10. They've come a long way.
15. Burnley (12 points, -4)
Burnley’s 3-2 defeat of defending champions Chelsea in 2017/18 was one of the biggest opening-day shocks in Premier League history. Sean Dyche’s side were favourites for the drop before a ball had been kicked last term, but they confounded expectations by finishing seventh and qualifying for the Europa League.
The Clarets had been beaten 1-0 by Swansea 12 months prior, a defeat which extended their winless run in the first game of the season to four matches. Overall, they have taken 12 points from a possible 30 in the last 10 years.
14. Huddersfield (12 points, -1)
Huddersfield marked their Premier League arrival in style last time out, easing to a 3-0 win at Crystal Palace which fired them to the top of the table after the first round of games in 2017/18. They'd also been triumphant on the opening weekend of the previous campaign, beating Brentford 2-1 at the John Smith’s Stadium.
There have been downs as well as ups, though, most notably a 4-0 shellacking by Bournemouth in August 2014. For an indication of how far Town have come in the last decade, they were held to a 1-1 draw by Stockport (now competing in the National League North) in their first match of the 2008/09 League One season.
13. Brighton (13 points, -2)
Brighton were handed an extremely tough task on the opening weekend last season, welcoming Manchester City to the Amex Stadium. The Seagulls didn’t disgrace themselves in a 2-0 defeat, but they’ll be targeting at least a point when they travel to Watford this weekend.
If Albion’s opening-day record in the last decade is anything to go by, Saturday’s clash at Vicarage Road is unlikely to end with the scores level: in the last 10 years, Brighton have only drawn one of their first fixtures of the season – a scoreless stalemate against Derby in 2016.
12. Tottenham (14 points, +2)
Tottenham may be well established among the Premier League’s big six these days, but they've been relatively sluggish out of the blocks in the last decade – which doesn’t bode well ahead of Saturday’s trip to Newcastle.
Spurs opened their campaign with a victory over the Magpies last term, but before that they'd won just two of their previous seven opening-day encounters – a run which included two defeats by Manchester United.
11. West Ham (15 points, -2)
West Ham were desperately poor in their season debut last time out, when Manchester United ran out 4-0 winners at Old Trafford. They also lost on the opening weekend in 2016/17, going down 2-1 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The Hammers’ overall record in the last decade is respectable, however, with five wins from 10 games. Their best result in the period covered came at the beginning of 2015/16, when goals from Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate delivered a 2-0 triumph at Arsenal.
10. Arsenal (15 points, +3)
During the latter years of the Arsene Wenger era, Arsenal were heavily criticised for leaving their transfer business until the last minute – a policy which often had a knock-on effect on their early results in the Premier League.
In the last five campaigns, for instance, the Gunners have lost to Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa on the opening weekend, with their two victories in that time – against Crystal Palace and Leicester – coming thanks to last-minute winners.
9. Fulham (16 points, +6)
Fulham are back in the top flight for the first time since 2014 and will be looking to start their season with a win against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Their record on the opening weekend is pretty strong, with 16 points amassed and only two games lost in the last decade.
Between 2009, when the Cottagers beat Portsmouth 1-0 thanks to a Bobby Zamora goal, and 2017, the Cottagers lost just one of their curtain-raising contests.
8. Liverpool (18 points, +1)
Mohamed Salah gave an indication of what was to come when he scored to put Liverpool 3-2 up in their opening-day clash with Watford in 2017/18, but a last-minute concession denied Jurgen Klopp’s charges all three points.
That was one of five occasions in which the Reds have failed to emerge triumphant on the opening weekend in the last 10 years, with defeats by West Brom and Tottenham suffered in that time. A thrilling 4-3 win at Arsenal in 2016 was Liverpool’s standout result in the period covered.
7. Wolves (18 points, +2)
Wolves have begun with a bang in their two most recent Premier League seasons, beating Stoke 2-1 in 2010/11 and Blackburn by the same scoreline in 2011/12. The latter campaign ended in relegation, however, and Wanderers suffered a second successive demotion to League One the following year, which started with a 1-0 loss to Leeds.
Eighteen points from a possible 30 is an excellent return, though, and Nuno’s men will fancy their chances of posting another opening-day victory when Everton visit Molineux on Saturday.
6. Watford (18 points, +6)
Watford are traditionally strong starters – in fact, they haven't lost on the opening day of the season since 2006/07 – which bodes well ahead of Saturday’s showdown against Brighton. Marco Silva’s side salvaged a 3-3 draw against Liverpool this time last year thanks to a stoppage-time equaliser; the year before, they collected a respectable point at Southampton.
The Hornets were also quick out of the blocks in the Championship, vanquishing Bolton 3-0 in their promotion season of 2013/14 and beating Crystal Palace 3-2 in 2012/13, before going on to lose against the Eagles in the play-off final nine months later.
5. Leicester (19 points, + 6)
Leicester were among the favourites for relegation in 2015/16, but an opening-day victory over Sunderland proved to be the start of something special as Claudio Ranieri’s men won the Premier League by 10 points.
Their title defence began badly the following campaign with a 2-1 loss to Hull, but the Foxes have generally performed well in their first game of the season. They have won six of their 10 matches since 2008/09, including victories over MK Dons, Swansea, Coventry, Peterborough and Middlesbrough outside the top tier.
4. Cardiff (19 points, +6)
Cardiff have only spent one of the last 10 seasons in the Premier League, but their record on the opening day is among the best of the division’s current 20 sides. Neil Warnock led the Bluebirds to a shock promotion last term, with a 1-0 victory over Burton ensuring they started their campaign with a bang.
They were also victorious on the opening day of their previous promotion-winning campaign, beating Huddersfield 1-0 in August 2012. Impressively, Cardiff have lost just once on the opening weekend in the last 10 years.
3. Manchester United (22 points, +13)
By their lofty standards Manchester United are enduring something of a title drought at present, but no club can better their record of three Premier League triumphs in the last decade. That helps to explain why they rank so highly in this list, with 22 points accumulated from a possible 30 on the opening weekend since 2008/09.
Even David Moyes got off to a winning start, as a Robin van Persie-inspired United thrashed Swansea 4-1 in August 2013. Louis van Gaal’s side lost to the same opposition the following season, but Jose Mourinho won his first match in charge against Bournemouth in 2016.
2. Chelsea (23 points, +17)
Chelsea open their 2018/19 season at Huddersfield on Saturday, when they will be looking to maintain their terrific record on the opening weekend. The Blues, who have won three league titles in the period covered, have lost just one of their season debuts since 2008/09 – a surprise 3-2 reverse against Burnley in August 2017.
A year before that defeat, Diego Costa starred in a 2-1 victory over West Ham which kick-started the Antonio Conte era at Stamford Bridge. Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho (second spell) also began with wins, but Andre Villas-Boas’s Blues were held to a draw by Stoke in 2011.
1. Manchester City (25 points, +17)
Yep, they're winning this one too. The reigning Premier League champions are the kings of the opening day, having taken 25 points from their 10 curtain-raisers since 2008/09. Pep Guardiola’s men eased to a 2-0 victory over Brighton in 2017 on their way to a record-breaking 100 points, and the Catalan will expect another win when his charges do battle with Arsenal on Sunday.
City have won eight and drawn one of their first fixtures in the last decade, with their sole defeat inflicted upon them by Aston Villa in 2008. Since then, though, the Citizens have beaten Blackburn, Swansea, Newcastle (twice), Southampton West Brom, Sunderland and Brighton.
