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ARSENAL
The season: 2004/05
The winning race: Five games
Victories: Everton (1-4), Middlesbrough (5-3), Blackburn (3-0), Norwich (1-4), Fulham (0-3)
The first stumble: Bolton (2-2)
Final position: 2nd
Arsenal put a scoreboard early in the first Premier League season Arsene Wenger, José Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson, Rafael Benítez and Iain Dowie faced off at the head of the managers. The invincibles they were running on steam through August and September before Manchester United derailed them in October, but not before their perfect start obviously ended with Sam Allardyce’s Bolton. Chelsea rose to the top in early November and did not change from that position.
ASTON VILLA
The season: 1999/2000
The winning race: Two games
Victories: Newcastle (0-1), Everton (3-0)
The first stumble: West Ham (2-2)
Final position: Sixth
Aston Villa has already matched its longest winning streak to start a Premier League season, even matching its sequence of opening results with John Gregory just over two decades ago. They also started with a pair of wins in 1995/96, but they foolishly conceded in that win over Manchester United before beating Tottenham. If they want to usurp those two seasons, they will have to beat the champions on Sunday.
BRIGHTON
The season: 2019/20
The winning race: A game
The winner: Watford (0-3)
The first stumble: West Ham (1-1)
Final position: fifteen
Brighton has not started any of its eight top flight seasons with more than one win in a row. Three of their four Premier League campaigns started with a defeat, the only exception being the 2019/20 beating of a Watford side that would eventually succumb to relegation.
BURNLEY
The season: 2017/18 and 2019/20
The winning races: A game
Victories: Chelsea (3-2) and Southampton (3-0)
The first stumble: West Brom (0-1) and Arsenal (2-1)
Final position: 7 and 10
Burnley started with two top flight wins in the 1973 First Division, but has never exited the Premier League blocks. They have always finished in the top half after winning their first game and in the bottom half after losing it, so Sean Dyche could really be packing your bags soon.
CHELSEA
The season: 2005/06
The winning race: Nine games
Victories: Wigan (0-1), Arsenal (1-0), West Brom (4-0), Tottenham (0-2), Sunderland (2-0), Charlton (0-2), Aston Villa (2-1 ), Liverpool (1-4), Bolton (5-1)
The first stumble: Everton (1-1)
Final position: 1st
The longest winning start in Premier League history belongs to Chelsea, who earned more points (27) in mid-October before drawing at Goodison Park than Norwich did in all of last season (21). They didn’t even concede until their seventh game when Luke Moore finally dirtied Petr Cech’s pristine blades, and he stayed on top pretty much the entire season.
CRYSTAL PALACE
The season: 2020/21
The winning race: Two games
Victories: Southampton (1-0), Manchester United (1-3)
The first stumble: Everton (1-2)
Final position: Who knows?
What a fool Joel Ward was to decide to have limbs. Crystal Palace were making big guns before that.
EVERTON
The season: 2020/21
The winning race: Three games
Victories: Tottenham (0-1), West Brom (5-2), Crystal Palace (1-2)
The first stumble: Who knows? But then they have Brighton and Liverpool.
Final position: Who knows?
The good news is that this is already Everton’s best start to a Premier League season, surpassing Howard Kendall’s excellent start in the 1993/94 campaign with only goals scored. The bad news is that Everton finished 17th and held up by two points. Carlo Ancelotti does not appear to be about to embark on a relegation battle.
FULHAM
The season: 2012/13
The winning race: A game
The winner: Norwich (5-0)
The first stumble: Manchester United (3-2)
Final position: 12
It was by virtue of the alphabet that Fulham ranked first in the Premier League over Swansea – Michu-inspired 5-0 victors against QPR – after the opening day of 2012/13. That was best for the Cottagers, whose record in the opening games of their respective Premier League seasons is slightly pleasant: P15 W5 D4 L6 F20 A21
LEEDS
The season: 1995/96
The winning race: Three games
Victories: West Ham (1-2), Liverpool (1-0), Aston Villa (2-0)
The first stumble: Southampton (1-1)
Final position: 13
Anthony Yeboah.
Opening day 1995/96 #lufc
Tony ‘Shoot To Kill’ Yeboah with a double, the second an outright bullet in a 2-1 win at Upton Park v West Ham. pic.twitter.com/CMIQW8HL6m– LEEDS UTD MEMORIES🏆 (@LUFCHistory) June 13, 2020
LEICESTER
The season: 2020/21
The winning race: Three games
Victories: West Brom (0-3), Burnley (4-2), Manchester City (2-5)
The first stumble: Partridge.jpg
Final position: The first six, perhaps?
LIVERPOOL
The season: 2019/20
The winning race: Eight games
Victories: Norwich (4-1), Southampton (1-2), Arsenal (3-1), Burnley (0-3), Newcastle (3-1), Chelsea (1-2), Sheffield United (0-1) , Leicester (2-1)
The first stumble: Manchester United (1-1)
Final position: 1st
After 2018/19 brought six consecutive victories to open the season, Jurgen Klopp and his players had two better results the following campaign. Even so, they could only match the eight victories Kenny Dalglish started with in the 1990/91 First Division.
CITY OF MANCHESTER
The season: 2016/17
The winning race: Six games
Victories: Sunderland (2-1), Stoke (1-4), West Ham (3-1), Manchester United (1-2), Bournemouth (4-0), Swansea (1-3)
The first stumble: Tottenham (2-0)
Final position: 3rd
More than a few words were eaten with a humble slice of cake in Pep Guardiola’s early months as Premier League coach. Those who suggested that I shouldn’t wait to come here and take our points were treated with a rude awakening. But once a Tottenham team without Harry Kane pulled them off course in October, they struggled to permanently rediscover their course until about April.
MANCHESTER UNITED
The season: 2011/12
The winning race: Five games
Victories: West Brom (1-2), Tottenham (3-0), Arsenal (8-2), Bolton (0-5), Chelsea (3-1)
The first stumble: Stoke (1-1)
Final position: 2nd
Like Wenger, Ferguson never embarked on too ridiculous a winning career to start a season. Five was the most he achieved, although he scored 21 goals. That barely scratched the brand established by Ron Atkinson in 1985/86, when Manchester United won their first ten First Division games… but only 12 of the remaining 32 before finishing 4th.
NEWCASTLE
The season: 1994/95
The winning race: Six games
Victories: Leicester (1-3), Coventry (4-0), Southampton (5-1), West Ham (1-3), Chelsea (4-2), Arsenal (2-3)
The first stumble: Liverpool (1-1)
Final position: 6th
Everyone knows about the 1995/96 crash, but few remember that Newcastle got off to an even better start the previous season before a possibly even steeper drop on the billboards. Kevin Keegan led the Magpies to the top of the Premier League tree in November 1994, but a victory on 11 from November 7 to January 21 saw them fall back into obscurity. It’s all about timing.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
The season: 1993/94
The winning race: A game
The winner: Swindon (3-1)
The first stumble: Manchester United (0-3)
Final position: twenty
This season was actually the first in which Sheffield United lost their first game of a Premier League campaign. That streak included games against Manchester United and Liverpool, but also the meeting with Swindon Town in August 1993, won by goals from Willie Falconer, Carl Bradshaw and Paul Rogers. Both would be relegated in May. The Blades started with four consecutive victories in 1971/72, beating Southampton, Leeds, Arsenal and Everton before drawing at home to West Brom.
SOUTHAMPTON
The season: 1999/2000 and 2013/14
The winning races: A game
Victories: Coventry (0-1) and West Brom (0-1)
The first stumble: Leeds (0-3) and Sunderland (1-1)
Final position: 15 and 8
Southampton have won their first meeting in just two of their 22 Premier League seasons. Both were 1-0 victories. Choose your option.
TOTTENHAM
The season: 2009/10
The winning race: Four games
Victories: Liverpool (2-1), Hull (1-5), West Ham (1-2), Birmingham (2-1)
The first stumble: Manchester United (3-1)
Final position: Fourth
Benoit Assou-Ekotto continued the proud tradition of random scorers from non-traditional scorers against Liverpool and Jermain Defoe did his usual parts when Harry Redknapp finally dragged Tottenham into the Champions League in large part thanks to a solid start. The spurs still hold the overall record for most wins to start an English top flight season with 11.
WEST BROM
The season: 2017/18
The winning race: Two games
Victories: Bournemouth (1-0), Burnley (0-1)
The first stumble: Stoke (1-1)
Final position: twenty
That is really the sound of the Pulis. And it’s deafening.
WESTERN HAM
The season: 1997/98
The winning race: Two games
Victories: Barnsley (1-2), Tottenham (2-1)
The first stumble: Everton (2-1)
Final position: Eighth
John Lyall oversaw five straight wins to open the 1983/84 First Division, but West Ham has only once had a perfect start to more than one Premier League match. Redknapp was once again responsible, although this time he was unable to deliver European football to London in 1997/98.
WOLVES
The season: 2011/12
The winning race: Two games
Victories: Blackburn (1-2), Fulham (2-0)
The first stumble: Aston Villa (0-0)
Final position: twenty
It started out so well. He also finished with Terry Connor in 13 games without a win as interim manager after Mick McCarthy’s departure in February, which culminated with the Wolves finishing last after only adding three more wins to their first two.
Matt stead
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