Every team in the division will undoubtedly play each other both at home and away throughout the course of the season, but the timing and location of those matches can have a big influence on the outcomes.
Starting away from home against a promoted team on the opening game of the season is probably going to be harder than playing them in the middle of the fixture list, for example, and that's not even taking into account form (or lack thereof), injuries, and other factors.
Which side will therefore have the easiest and hardest starts to 2023–24? How are the Big Six doing? Mail Sport has ranked each Premier League club's first six games in the table below.
Based on the final standings from the previous season (with Manchester United at the top), each team has been assigned a rank.
Newcastle (20) (Fixture Difficulty: 47)
Perhaps Newcastle fans already feel that the Premier League doesn't treat them fairly.
According to our calculations, they have by far the worst start to the season, with a nasty August still to come, so those conspiracy ideas may very well persist.
The Magpies will play Aston Villa, who will try to qualify for Europe, champion Manchester City away, then high-flyers Liverpool, Brighton, and Brentford. The only challenging opponent in the first six is promoted Sheffield United, which provides some relief.
Bournemouth 19. (Rating for Fixture Difficulty: 54)
Gary O'Neil, the manager of Bournemouth, received praise for keeping the Cherries from being relegated last season, albeit perhaps not broadly enough.
However, following their first six games, which included travels to Brentford and Liverpool, they may be near the bottom.
15. West Ham (59 on the Fixture Difficulty Scale)
Despite their incredibly disappointing Premier League performance in 2022–23 being overshadowed by their victory in the Europa Conference League, David Moyes will be aware that the domestic situation needs to change.
In light of this, early travels to promoted Luton and Bournemouth will be crucial for the Hammers as they seek to have a successful start.
Particularly given that their first six games—against Chelsea, Brighton, Manchester City, and Liverpool—may not produce many points.
12. Fulham (60 out of 100 for fixing difficulty).
Fulham enters the fixture ticker at joint No. 12, which is neither the greatest nor the worse.
They may very well anticipate defeating Luton at home and Everton at Goodison Park. But away from Arsenal and City
blogpay
ill therefore have the easiest and hardest starts to 2023–24? How are the Big Six doing? Mail Sport has ranked each Premier League club's first six games in the table below.
Total Comments: 0