Pochettino's Chelsea a team to fear on Fixture Release Day

History shows Blues and their new head coach could be a deadly combination on the opening weekend.

Despite enduring a difficult 2022/23, Chelsea are one of the teams to avoid on the opening weekend when the fixtures for the new Premier League season are released at 09:00 BST this Thursday. 

Historically they are the joint-best performers in Matchweek 1, among clubs who have had at least seven seasons in the Premier League. The Blues' 1-0 win at Everton at the start of the last campaign took their win percentage to an impressive 64.5 per cent, matching Manchester United, whose own record was tarnished by a home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. 

Chelsea's reputation as season-opener specialists could be enhanced further following the arrival of new head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who has the joint second-best win percentage among current Premier League managers, alongside Jurgen Klopp. Of the seven fixtures he has overseen in Matchweek 1 with Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, Pochettino has only lost once.

The Argentinian has started the season with a victory in five out of his seven attempts, the same as Liverpool boss Klopp. However, Klopp has the edge after staying unbeaten in his opening-weekend fixtures. It will come as little surprise that Manchester City's manager Pep Guardiola sits top of the pile, with an 85.7 per cent win-rate from his seven Matchweek 1 fixtures.

As a club, Man City have won 11 out of their last 12 opening-weekend matches, their only loss being a 1-0 defeat at Spurs in 2021/22. In general, champions tend to start well. There have been only three occasions when a title defence has started with a defeat, and City will aim to maintain that trend.

An opening-weekend encounter with a promoted club might seem like the dream scenario, but the three clubs coming up from the Championship - Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town - should not be underestimated. After all, in 2021/22 Brentford began life in the Premier League by beating Arsenal 2-0, and the Bees' 2-2 draw at Leicester City at the start of last season left them unbeaten in Matchweek 1.

Last term, AFC Bournemouth beat Aston Villa, while Fulham held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw. Sheff Utd have a good record ahead of their own Premier League return, losing only one of their five Premier League openers, while Burnley beat reigning champions Chelsea 3-2 in a shock away win in 2017/18.

This season's promoted trio could make history by all winning on the opening weekend, a treble that has never happened before. This feat was almost achieved in 2021/22, when Brentford and Watford won, but Norwich City's 3-0 home defeat by Liverpool meant the historic hat-trick of victories was not to be.