Premier League fixtures: Which teams have best and worst starts?

Premier League fixtures 2023-24: Run-ins and potential title deciders

The dust has not long settled on Manchester City’s historic treble win but attention is already turning to the new campaign following the release of the 2023-24 Premier League fixture schedule.

Pep Guardiola’s City will kick off the new season on August 11 when they travel to Vincent Kompany’s newly-promoted Burnley, while the most eye-catching clash of the opening weekend is at Stamford Bridge where Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea will host Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

To predict what might happen in 2023-24, we have used our latest Premier League odds to rank each team by their most likely finishing position and compare their opening and closing schedules.

Who has the easiest start?

Guardiola’s all-conquering side will fancy their chances of carrying momentum from their Treble win into the new season, with four of the projected bottom six lined up for their first half-dozen fixtures.

After their opening match against Burnley, City face Sheffield United, Fulham and Nottingham Forest in the first six weeks of the campaign. A home game against Newcastle is their trickiest assignment until a trip to Arsenal on October 7.

Meanwhile, London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham will go into the season under new management, with former Spurs man Pochettino crossing the divide to take over at Stamford Bridge.

Apart from hosting Liverpool in their first game of the season, the Blues have an appealing start – West Ham follow before successive games against Luton, Forest and Bournemouth.

Tottenham, under new boss Ange Postecoglou, open up at Brentford before hosting Manchester United. Then comes a run of Bournemouth, Burnley and Sheffield United in succession before the Australian’s sternest early tests against Arsenal and Liverpool in back-to-back games.

Who has the toughest start?

Bournemouth – whose 9-0 loss at Liverpool in the early part of last season cost Scott Parker his job – travel to Anfield once again in the second round of games as part of a hellish start on paper for new manager Andoni Iraola.

The Cherries also face Tottenham, Brentford, Chelsea and Brighton in their first six fixtures, with an opening home game against Europa Conference League winners West Ham already looking like an important one.

Meanwhile, former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has been handed an equally tough start in his current role at Newcastle, with the Magpies playing Manchester City and Liverpool back-to-back in between games against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa and Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton.

Steve Cooper’s Forest are next on the list for difficult opening schedules, heading to Arsenal on the opening weekend before embarking on trips to Manchester United, Chelsea and City before the end of September.

How do teams fare on opening day?

A clash with Guardiola’s side represents a daunting task for any team but particularly early on, with City having won nine of their past 10 opening matches of the Premier League season. In a bad sign for Kompany’s Burnley, eight of those games were away from home, with a 1-0 defeat at Spurs in 2021-22 the only blemish in the past decade.

The worst opening-day records belong to Sheffield United and Newcastle, with both sides having won two and lost seven of their last 10 season openers.

Who has the best run-in?

City’s status as title favourites has hardly been damaged by their fixture schedule. As well as ranking top for the easiest start on paper, they are behind only Brentford for kindest ends to the 2023-24 season.

Guardiola’s men host Luton, Wolves and West Ham in their final six fixtures, with the remaining matches away at Tottenham, Forest and Fulham.

Brentford can expect to end the campaign strongly with Sheffield United, Luton, Everton, Fulham and Bournemouth among their final six opponents. The Bees will also be boosted by the return of the banned Ivan Toney as they look to improve on a ninth-placed showing last term.

Who has the most difficult run-in?

Bournemouth fans will be justifiably cursing their luck having been handed the toughest sets of fixtures at both the start and the end of the season.

The Cherries face three of the predicted top six – Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea – in their final half-dozen games, while their remaining opponents (Villa, Brighton and Brentford) are also expected to finish in the top half of the table.

Meanwhile, Tottenham’s gentle opening schedule is offset by a nasty-looking end to the season, where they face Newcastle, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool in successive weeks.

When are the potential title deciders?

Last season’s runners-up Arsenal face two key tests of their credentials in the early part of the season, with home games against Manchester United and City in September and October respectively.

United then host City on October 28, before Guardiola’s side welcome Liverpool – who are still rated as their most likely title rivals despite an indifferent 2022-23 – in November. After that, the Reds have two critical back-to-back home games against United and Arsenal immediately before Christmas.

Arsenal’s return fixture against Liverpool is pencilled in for early February, before Manchester City enter a decisive month in March. The three-time reigning champions play all three of their main rivals in the space of a month, at a time when FA Cup and Champions League knockout stages are in full swing.

The final two games between the projected top four will take place at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag’s side hosting Liverpool and Arsenal in April and May respectively.