Ranking every Premier League club by how hard their first 6 fixtures are
We now know Burnley and Manchester City will open the 2023-24 Premier League season after the fixture list was announced – and we cannot wait for it all to get started again. But which teams have the easiest and hardest starts to the campaign?
Now that the calendar has been set in stone, we’ve ranked every team in the Premier League by the difficulty of their first six matches, based on every club’s 2022-23 finishing position.
Newly-promoted sides Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town have been deemed to have finished 21st, 22nd and 23rd respectively last season.
It wouldn’t be the Premier League without some shocks, and the early fixtures are often a good time to bet on the outsiders, but Manchester City will certainly fancy their chances of a good start to their title defence based on their opening set of games, while Newcastle fans can feel confident about what their side might achieve this season if they come through their first six unscathed.
20. Manchester City
First six fixtures: Burnley (A), Newcastle (H), Sheffield United (A), Fulham (H), West Ham (A), Nottingham Forest (H)
Average difficulty: 14.5
19. Chelsea
First six fixtures: Liverpool (H), West Ham (A), Luton Town (H), Nottingham Forest (H), Bournemouth (A), Aston Villa (H)
Average difficulty: 13.3
18. Luton Town
First six fixtures: Brighton (A), Burnley (H), Chelsea (A), West Ham (H), Fulham (A), Wolves (H)
Average difficulty: 12.7
🗣️ "It could have been much worse!"
Luton Town CEO Gary Sweet believes the Hatters have been handed a 'relatively kind' start to the 2023/24 Premier League 🎩🤝pic.twitter.com/QfMKkR0qOF
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 15, 2023
=16. Tottenham
First six fixtures: Brentford (A), Manchester United (H), Bournemouth (A), Burnley (A), Sheffield United (H), Arsenal (A)
Average difficulty: 12.0
=16. Brighton
First six fixtures: Luton Town (H), Wolves (A), West Ham (H), Newcastle (H), Manchester United (A), Bournemouth (H)
Average difficulty: 12.0
15. Aston Villa
First six fixtures: Newcastle (A), Everton (H), Burnley (A), Liverpool (A), Crystal Palace (H), Chelsea (A)
Average difficulty: 11.7
14. Manchester United
First six fixtures: Wolves (H), Tottenham (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Arsenal (A), Brighton (H), Burnley (A)
Average difficulty: 11.0
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=10. Arsenal
First six fixtures: Nottingham Forest (H), Crystal Palace (A), Fulham (H), Manchester United (H), Everton (A), Tottenham (H)
Average difficulty: 10.8
=10. Brentford
First six fixtures: Tottenham (H), Fulham (A), Crystal Palace (H), Bournemouth (H), Newcastle (A), Everton (H)
Average difficulty: 10.8
=10. Liverpool
First six fixtures: Chelsea (A), Bournemouth (H), Newcastle (A), Aston Villa (H), Wolves (A), West Ham (H)
Average difficulty: 10.8
=10. Wolves
First six fixtures: Manchester United (A), Brighton (H), Everton (A), Crystal Palace (A), Liverpool (H), Luton Town (A)
Average difficulty: 10.8
=7. Fulham
First six fixtures: Everton (A), Brentford (H), Arsenal (A), Manchester City (A), Luton Town (H), Crystal Palace (A)
Average difficulty: 10.5
=7. Everton
First six fixtures: Fulham (H), Aston Villa (A), Wolves (H), Sheffield United (A), Arsenal (H), Brentford (A)
Average difficulty: 10.5
=7. Crystal Palace
First six fixtures: Sheffield United (A), Arsenal (H), Brentford (A), Wolves (H), Aston Villa (A), Fulham (H)
Average difficulty: 10.5
6. West Ham
First six fixtures: Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Brighton (A), Luton Town (A), Manchester City (H), Liverpool (A)
Average difficulty: 10.3
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5. Nottingham Forest
First six fixtures: Arsenal (A), Sheffield United (H), Manchester United (A), Chelsea (A), Burnley (H), Manchester City (A)
Average difficulty: 10.2
4. Burnley
First six fixtures: Manchester City (H), Luton Town (A), Aston Villa (H), Tottenham (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Manchester United (A)
Average difficulty: 9.7
3. Sheffield United
First six fixtures: Crystal Palace (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Manchester City (H), Everton (H), Tottenham (A), Newcastle (H)
Average difficulty: 9.5
2. Bournemouth
First six fixtures: West Ham (H), Liverpool (A), Tottenham (H), Brentford (A), Chelsea (H), Brighton (A)
Average difficulty: 9.0
1. Newcastle
First six fixtures: Aston Villa (H), Manchester City (A), Liverpool (H), Brighton (A), Brentford (H), Sheffield United (A)
Average difficulty: 8.3
READ NEXT: How the Premier League and Football League fixtures are compiled
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