“You have to play everyone eventually,” say the level-headed among us – but not all fixture schedules are drawn up equal. Tough away days after a long-haul European midweek match is a bugbear of many a Premier League manager.
Everton have been handed the toughest start to the season, with the sides currently favourite to be in the top-four spots all facing Ronald Koeman's side in the first five weeks
Then there’s the start. Every club wants some winnable fixtures early on to build up that magical momentum, right? Plus if you’re a Fantasy Football fan, it’s wise when picking your initial XI to see who your players might actually might be up against, right?
Well, the folks at bwin have crunched the odds to calculate which club has the easiest and trickiest start over the first 10 Premier League games - and the evidence there is firmly against putting too much stock in Everton players early on.
The Blues have been handed the toughest start to the season by far, with the sides currently favourite to be in the top-four spots comes season’s end (Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham) all facing Ronald Koeman's side in the first five weeks.
If Arsenal fans are reading that thinking it’s a dig at their standing and are considering what to write on a plane banner in protest (oh, we’re just kidding), there’s further bad news. The Gunners also face a tricky start, as they don't have an easy looking game until late September and have to deal with both Chelsea and Liverpool early on.
Saints, Hammers and Spurs
Leicester also have to face all of last season’s top six in their first 10 games, but it’s far better news for Southampton and West Ham. The Saints face just one of the six title favourites in their first 10 Premier League fixtures, while the Hammers take on five of the six weakest-looking teams in the division (and just two of the toughest) in their opening 10 matches.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have four fixtures against teams expected to be battling relegation comes season’s end in their first seven games. Chelsea are the only (likely) direct rival they face in that sequence.
Manchester United also have a nice long wait until they face a heavyweight rival - Liverpool in October - but their run of matches comes against teams expected to be around mid-table rather than relegation fodder. So Jose Mourinho better ensure his side have a superior cutting edge than they displayed in the league last year.
Anyway, the first 10 fixtures for all sides are detailed below (red representing a top club that's 12/1 or less to win the title, while green shows a club with odds of 4/1 or shorter to be relegated). To read further detailed info on how the opening matches could play, immerse yourself in bwin's full data info here.
Then console yourself with the knowledge that in football, the odds are never mentioned more often than when they’re spectacularly upset after the event.
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