IT’S almost time for another Premier League season to start.
The big kick off down south is on Friday August 11 as Arsenal host Leicester.
That’s followed by a whole opening weekend of action.
If you can’t wait until then, it all starts this weekend down in the Football League.
But who’ll be taking an early leap to three points?
New research by Bookmakers.tv has analysed each of England’s 92 football league clubs’ opening day results from the last decade, finding that Chelsea has the best record in round one fixtures, having picked up 26 of a possible 30 points on offer.
The Blues – who have also scored the most goals in opening day matches (26) – are one of just two sides who have avoided an opening day defeat in the last 10 years, along with fellow Premier League club Watford, who sit sixth in the overall list with 20 points.
The five teams with the best opening-day record are:
| Team | Points | Wins | Goals | Most Common Result |
| Chelsea | 26 | 8 | 26 | W |
| Man City | 25 | 8 | 24 | W |
| Blackpool | 20 | 6 | 16 | W |
| Manchester United | 20 | 6 | 16 | W |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 20 | 6 | 18 | W |
The five teams with the worst opening-day record are:
| Team | Points | Wins | Goals | Most Common Result |
| Barnsley | 5 | 1 | 8 | L |
| Bristol Rovers | 5 | 1 | 9 | L |
| Norwich City | 6 | 2 | 11 | L |
| Stevenage | 7 | 1 | 10 | L |
| West Bromich Albion | 8 | 2 | 9 | L |
The findings also found that Blackpool has the best record of any non-Premier League club. In third place on the list, the Seasiders have an identical record to Man United (six wins, two draws and two defeats).
At the other end of the table, spending the summer looking forward to the start of the season is often in vain for fans of Barnsley or Bristol Rovers. Their sides have managed to pick-up just five points each across the 10 years and Barnsley also has the worst goal difference – they have conceded 16 more goals than they scored in opening day fixtures.
Other clubs that may be dreading the start of the season include Norwich City (six points), Stevenage (seven points) and West Brom (eight points), collecting five wins between all three sides.
Opening day matches can often be cagey and Nottingham Forrest has the best defensive record with five goals conceded, which is an impressive five times less than the goals shipped-in by Norwich (25).
If fans are looking for an exciting start, it’s best to avoid matches involving Tottenham, Southampton, Accrington Stanley, Bury, Northampton and Preston North End – each has scored just seven goals across opening fixtures since the start of the 2007/08 season.
Instead, the most goals has been enjoyed by fans of Chelsea (26), Man City (24), Colchester (23), Ipswich (22) and Gillingham (20).
Peterborough (six wins, four defeats), Hull and West Ham (both five wins, five defeats) are the only three clubs to have not recorded a single opening day draw, meaning they are unlikely to be sitting in mid-table after their first match.
Julian Beck of Bookmakers.tv said: “This analysis has thrown up some real surprises – on one hand, it makes sense that teams like Chelsea, Man City and Man United would traditionally start the season strongly but then at the other end of the table, there are some teams with a shocking opening day record.
“West Brom has the fourth worst record in the country whilst Spurs are beaten on this list by the likes of Cheltenham, Plymouth and Colchester. And as for fans of Barnsley and Bristol Rovers – maybe they should avoid opening day altogether!
“It looks like a good start may be the key to success, as the top two sides – Chelsea and Man City – have gone on to win half of the last 10 Premier League seasons between them.”
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