WITH the new football season fast approaching, a definitive league table of English Premier League and Football League opening day results has been compiled.
The stats cover the results of each of England’s 92 Premier League and Football League clubs during their opening day matches over the last decade.
Top of the table is Manchester City, who have the best opening day record, picking up 25 out of 30 points available.
The Sky Blues have won eight games from their round one fixtures over the last 10 years, more than any other club in the Premier League and Football League.
Surprisingly, although they sit in seventeenth position on the overall list with 18 points, fellow Premier League club Watford are the only club not to lose an opening day fixture in the last decade.
According to the bookmakers.tv study, the five teams with the best opening day record are:
| Team | Points | Wins | Goals | Most Common Result |
| Manchester City | 25 | 8 | 24 | W |
| Chelsea | 23 | 7 | 25 | W |
| Manchester United | 22 | 7 | 20 | W |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 20 | 6 | 17 | W |
| Charlton Athletic | 20 | 6 | 15 | W |
The five teams with the worst opening day record are:
| Team | Points | Wins | Goals | Most Common Result |
| Stoke City | 6 | 1 | 6 | L |
| Crewe Alexandra | 6 | 1 | 11 | L |
| Norwich City | 6 | 2 | 12 | L |
| Barnsley | 5 | 1 | 8 | L |
| Bristol Rovers | 4 | 1 | 8 | L |
The findings show that Sheffield Wednesday has the best record of any non-Premier League club.
Sitting in fourth place behind three Premier League giants, the Owls have an identical record to fellow Football League club Charlton Athletic (six wins, two draws and two defeats).
During that time, the Owls have recorded one promotion and one relegation, whilst Charlton Athletic have also been promoted once but relegated twice.
At the bottom of the table, Barnsley and Bristol Rovers have struggled, with Barnsley losing seven out of their last 10 opening day fixtures, and Bristol Rovers losing eight out of 10.
Both sides have managed to score just eight goals each over the last decade and Barnsley also have the worst goal difference with a -15 aggregate in opening day fixtures.
Premier League sides Crystal Palace, Southampton and Everton all have poor records, with the Eagles, the Saints and The Toffees each only recording two wins out of 10.
Things only get worse for Newcastle who have only managed a single victory. Championship club Norwich City hold the record for the most goals conceded (26).
At the top of the table for goals scored, the most prolific clubs are Chelsea (25), Manchester City (24), Colchester United (22), Leicester City (21), Manchester United (20), Luton Town (20) and Gillingham (20).
Of the 92 clubs, only two are yet to play out a draw; Peterborough (six wins, four defeats) and West Ham (five wins and five defeats).
Nottingham Forest have the best defensive record with five goals conceded and are proving to be defensive powerhouses on opening day.
Fans looking for an exciting start to the season should avoid matches involving Newcastle, Stoke City and Bury; each has scored just six goals across since the start of the 2008/09 season.
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