It’s the ultimate test for any team – 38 games over a nine month period in which there’s nowhere to hide.
In other words, the best side in the country will almost always – unless there are exceptional circumstances – win the Premier League title.
So, who has the hardest start?
Well West Ham and Brentford jump out to me for a start.
The Hammers have been paired with Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, champions Manchester City and west London duo Fulham and Chelsea in their opening five outings.
Welcome back to the Premier League, Julen Lopetegui!
On saying all of that, the Hammers have a new boss with a real pedigree, someone who impressed during his six months at Wolves and, in his first two games, will face opponents who may be without some key men (or certainly fully fit key men) given that Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze will need time off after England’s road to the final of Euro 2024.
Even if they haven’t figured too much in the tournament, (some not at all), they have been training with an intensity ready to be called upon at any moment and that takes its toll which West Ham could capitalise on.
The Hammers’ sole member in the England squad is Jarrod Bowen, while Palace have also sold Michael Olise and, at the time of writing, are weaker.
What of Brentford then?
Well, the Bees also face City and Palace, alongside Liverpool, Spurs and Southampton who bounced back to the top flight at the first attempt.
Thomas Frank has worked wonders since his arrival so don’t be surprised if his team causes a shock or two again, even during a tough start to the campaign.
The Ipswich story under Kieran McKenna is about to begin a new chapter and they have also been handed a tough-looking start.
Remember, this has been a meteoric rise for the ‘Tractor Boys’ who have become the first team since the Saints in 2011 and 2012 to win successive promotions to the Premier League from League One.
McKenna had already performed quite a feat in guiding Ipswich from League One, where they had lingered for four years, straight to the sharp end of a brutal Championship promotion fight.
Barely any outsiders expected them to last the course in an automatic promotion race against Leicester, Leeds and Southampton, all of whom could fuel their campaigns with Premier League resources. Yet they did and some!
Despite many suitors, McKenna has stayed loyal to East Anglia and now he takes his charges to jump straight into the deep end, with Liverpool and Manchester City as their first two games.
Their next three – Fulham, Brighton and Southampton – offer better opportunities to pick up points, but never rule out a shock result at the start of a season.
Back-to-back runners-up Arsenal will argue their first five matches are amongst the most difficult too – and they’d be right.
Mikel Arteta will be hoping his side can take that final step in 2024-25 and face three of the top five from last season in their opening five matches. Wolves, Aston Villa and Brighton provide the initial opposition before early meetings with north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and the champions.
Of course, there should be no such thing as an easy game in the Premier League and, while the gulf between the top clubs and the middle ranking and relegation battlers is undoubtedly widening (driven by finances), there can always be surprises where teams defy the Sbotop Premier League betting odds in the most spectacular fashion.
To name just three such resuts, think back to last season when Wolves beat City 2-1 despite only having one effort on target; when Bournemouth went to Old Trafford and returned to the south coast 3-0 victors; to when Luton held Liverpool and were seconds away from beating them.
A few stats to finish off with: Manchester United and Fulham will kick off the season at Old Trafford on August 16 when the Red Devils will become the first Premier League side in history to start eight consecutive seasons on home soil.
Ipswich begin their first Premier League campaign for 22 years against Liverpool, the side they ended their last one against in 2002.
Chelsea start against the reigning champions for the first time in 53 years, losing to Arsenal in their last such fixture in 1971 (3-0), with former City number two, Enzo Maresca, now their number one.
Not long to go now until the return of Premier League highlights and I bet you can’t wait!
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