Another year, another new season of the Premier League, the tournament is now entering it's twenty-ninth season since it's rebranding in 1992. Forty-nine different teams have competed for a chance at that illustrious Premier League trophy since then from Newcastle to Southampton, Swindon to Middlesbrough or even Liverpool to Arsenal. With the Premier League set to start this weekend, we here at SPORTbible decided to take a look into the teams that hold the best opening day records in the Premier League.
To remove any outliers when researching we laid out a couple of rules, teams must have completed at least five seasons and therefore played at least five opening week fixtures. Secondly, the Tottenham vs Everton opening day fixture in 2011/12 was postponed due to "safety concerns" and was therefore not included as an opening weekend fixture.
Now that the technicals are out the way, let's dive into the list...
10. Aston Villa
25 games, 9 wins, 8 draws, 8 losses
1.4 points per game
When people think of "Aston Villa" and "Premier League opening day fixtures" they probably think back to 1995 when goals from Ian Taylor, Mark Draper and Dwight Yorke saw the Villians beat a young Man United side 3-1 causing Alan Hansen to utter the infamous "You can't win anything with kids" phrase on Match of the Day that night.
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Aston Villa have produced some decent results on the opening days of the season, having won nine and drawn eight in their twenty-five Premier League seasons and another win this weekend would see them become only the eight side to win ten plus opening day Premier League fixtures.
Bookmakers Betway have Aston Villa at 13/8 to beat Sheffield United next weekend.
9. Blackburn Rovers
18 games, 7 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses
1.44 points per game
Blackburn have featured in eighteen of the twenty-nine Premier League seasons played but one season will stick out to most fans; 1994/95. The Rovers, led by Kenny Dalglish won the club's first-ever Premier League title and third English League title. Evidently that season the club drew their first game of the season in a 1-1 draw at Southampton thanks to a goal from none other than Alan Shearer, who went on to be the League's top scorer that season at 34 goals.
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Recently Blackburn have been playing their football in the Championship after being relegated during the 2011/12 season but they have cemented their place at ninth in the Premier League opening fixture table, picking up 1.44 points per game.
8. Tottenham Hotspur
27 games, 11 wins, 7 draws, 9 losses
1.48 points per game
The first of the Premier League "Big Six", Tottenham have featured in every single season in the Premier League era and although they have never won the competition they did come close in 2016/17 finishing runners-up to Chelsea. Tottenham are unbeaten in their previous four opening day weekend fixtures, winning three of them and drawing the fourth.
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Spurs kick-off the 2020/21 season by hosting Everton, a team that they have faced 179 times down the years, winning on 68 of those occasions and losing 55 times. Jose Mourinho's men are undefeated in their last fifteen games against Everton in the Premier League and will no doubt be looking to add a twelfth opening day win to their record.
Bookmakers Betway have Tottenham at 17/20 to beat Everton this weekend.
7. Bolton Wanderers
13 games, 6 wins, 2 draws, 5 losses
1.54 points per game
Another team that isn't currently in the division holds one of the best opening day records, many Premier League fans will associate Bolton's time in the Premier League with the formidable Sam Allardyce, a manager renowned for being hard to break down and beat. In fact it was Allardyce that led The Trotters to their best-ever Premier League finish in 2004/05 at sixth, which probably explains their redoubtable record.
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6. Arsenal
28 games, 15 wins, 6 draws, 7 losses
1.82 points per game
Arsenal have seen two seven goal thrillers on the opening days of the Premier League season during their tenure in the league. The first came in 2009 when they thrashed Everton at Goodison Park 6-1 thanks to goals from Cesc Fàbregas, Eduardo and numerous defenders. The second came more recently when Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool beat the Gunners 4-3 at the Emirates in the German's first full season at Anfield.
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This year Arsenal are travelling to Craven Cottage to face a newly promoted Fulham side, a team that Arsenal have won the last five consecutive meetings against.
Bookmakers Betway have The Gunners at 11/20 for the win this weekend.
5. Man City
23 games, 12 wins, 6 draws, 5 losses
1.82 points per game
The Citizens' record has been aided by Pep Guardiola, who is currently undefeated on the opening day of the Premier League winning all four since the Spaniard has taken over. Most recently Man City thrashed West Ham on the opening day of the 2019/20 season 5-0 at the London Stadium with Raheem Sterling scoring a hat-trick. Though there were some bad times for the Sky Blues, older fans will remember losing 4-0 to Charlton on the opening day of the 2000/01 season and then 4-2 at Aston Villa in 2008, one of Manchester City's final games before Sheikh Mansour's 2008 takeover.
This season the club will not be participating in gameweek 1 due to the additional resting period they were granted for their late Champions League run last season.
4. Leeds United
12 games, 5 wins, 7 draws, 0 losses
1.83 points per game
Leeds are the only club in Premier League history to feature in more than five Premier League seasons and remain undefeated on the opening day of the season. That record could be in jeopardy this season as The Whites prepare for their first season in the Premier League since 2003/04, they face a trip to the 2019/20 Premier League Champions on the opening day. It should be a tight affair, however, as Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds are renowned for being hard to break down, having only conceded 102 goals in his 100 games in charge of the club.
Bookmakers Betway have Leeds at 9/1 to win at Anfield this weekend.
3. Liverpool
28 games, 16 wins, 8 draws, 4 losses
2 points per game
The first club to surpass the infamous 2 point threshold, Liverpool have been involved in numerous opening day goal fests during the Premier League era stretching all the way back to 1994 when goals from Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Ian Rush gave them a 6-1 victory at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace. The Reds have seen two 3-3 draws on the opening day, the first coming in 1996 against Middlesbrough and then the second more recently against Watford thanks to a Miguel Britos stoppage time goal.
One of the most notable of the four opening day losses came against West Brom in 2012 in Brendan Roger's first game in charge of the club, Zoltan Gera, Peter Odemwingie and Romelu Lukaku all scored the goals in a day to forget for Liverpool.
Bookmakers Betway have Liverpool at 1/4 to win at Anfield this weekend.
2. Chelsea
28 games, 17 wins, 6 draws, 5 losses
2.04 points per game
The penultimate spot goes to Chelsea, The Blues have won seventeen of their twenty-eight opening games in the Premier League having delivered some memorable ones too. 2003 saw Chelsea, who had recently been taken over by Roman Abramovich, travel to Anfield after beating the Reds to a Champions League spot the season before. It took a late goal from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to give the Blues the win. Then 2005 saw a newly promoted Wigan dominate Jose Mourinho's side before a last minute world class strike into the corner of the Wigan net from Hernan Crespo gave the London side all three points.
Bookmakers Betway have Chelsea at 8/13 for a win against Brighton on Monday.
1. Manchester United
28 games, 19 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses
2.18 points per game
Man United take top spot in the Premier League opening weekend league, having won nineteen of their twenty-eight games in the league. The Red Devils were at the centre of attention during the 2006 opening weekend, as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo both featured for the first time together after their infamous Euro 2005 spat, when United ran out 5-1 winners over Fulham. A false sense of security was given in the 2013 season when newly appointed David Moyes beat Swansea 4-1, though that turned out to be one of his best highlights at the club during his season there...
Whenever Man United do play their opening game of the season, the fans will most certainly be hoping for a similar outcome as last season after the Reds demolished Frank Lampard's Chelsea 4-0 at Old Trafford.
