Chelsea face toughest opening fixtures of title contenders - but what about your Premier League club?
We take a look at who faces the toughest run of games in the opening six matches
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Finally, all the previews, predictions and permutations will be put to the test, and we’ll get a first impression of how each club will actually perform.
Some will get off to a good start, some won’t – but often, early season form is decided by the difficulty of a club’s opening fixtures.
By using difficulty ratings for each game, based on last season’s results, we’ve produced a graph to show which clubs have been granted a relatively gentle start by the fixture computer.
The greener the game, the ‘easier’ it is. The redder, the more difficult.
So, who has it easiest during the first six weeks? According to the statistics, it seems that Sunderland are well placed to pick up points. They face two promoted teams, Norwich City and Bournemouth, as well as two fellow strugglers from last season in Leicester City and Aston Villa.
Everton, on the other hand, have the toughest opening tests. Once they get tomorrow’s home tie with Watford out the way, Southampton, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will be waiting.
Meanwhile, of the title contenders, the defending champions will be most up against it. They also face Manchester City early on, as will take on Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in mid-September. Keep an eye out for their tie against West Bromwich Albion too, who are managed by Jose Mourinho’s bogey man Tony Pulis.
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