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Manchester United statistically hold the most favourable opening to the 2026-27 Premier League campaign, while Manchester City and Chelsea appear to have drawn tougher starts.

With the fixture list now confirmed, we have assessed and ranked every Premier League side based on the relative difficulty of their first six matches, using each club’s finishing position from the 2025-26 season as the basis of comparison.

The newly promoted teams — Coventry City, Ipswich Town, and Hull City — have been allocated finishing positions of 18th, 19th, and 20th respectively from last season to balance the analysis.

Of course, this is not an exact science. Chelsea, Newcastle United, and Tottenham Hotspur all underperformed last season and could represent more challenging fixtures than, for example, Sunderland or Brentford.

As ever, the Premier League is full of surprises, and the early part of the season is often when underdogs spring upsets.

Manchester United will be confident of a strong start to their campaign, opening against Hull City and Ipswich Town — both newly promoted sides.

Meanwhile, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, and Everton have also been handed relatively manageable starts according to the Premier League’s fixture computer, potentially setting them up for a promising beginning to the season.

Manchester City and Chelsea, both entering new managerial eras, face steeper challenges. Chelsea’s run looks reasonable on paper, but Brentford, Brighton, and Bournemouth — all of whom finished above them last year — lie in wait.

City, meanwhile, face daunting early trips to Old Trafford and Anfield as they begin life after Pep Guardiola.

Defending champions Arsenal fall somewhere in the middle, with early matches against Aston Villa and Chelsea balanced by some winnable home fixtures.

Sunderland, who defied expectations to finish seventh last season, have a testing start as they prepare for their first European campaign since 1973. Depth could be a concern for them.

Below is our detailed ranking of every club’s start to the 2026-27 Premier League season, listed in reverse order by average difficulty:

Average difficulty: 13.6
First six fixtures: Liverpool (H), Tottenham (A), Bournemouth (H), Leeds (A), Hull (H), Coventry (A)

Average difficulty: 13.3
First six fixtures: Crystal Palace (H), Bournemouth (A), Manchester United (H), Tottenham (A), Ipswich (H), Hull (A)

Average difficulty: 13.3
First six fixtures: Everton (A), Hull (H), Fulham (A), Ipswich (H), Leeds (A), Nottingham Forest (H)

Average difficulty: 12.5
First six fixtures: Leeds (H), Liverpool (A), Tottenham (H), Aston Villa (A), Coventry (H), Crystal Palace (A)

Average difficulty: 12.1
First six fixtures: Brighton (A), Arsenal (H), Hull (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Tottenham (A), Brentford (H)

Average difficulty: 11.8
First six fixtures: Newcastle (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Ipswich (A), Fulham (H), Bournemouth (A), Manchester City (H)

Average difficulty: 10.8
First six fixtures: Coventry (H), Aston Villa (A), Chelsea (H), Sunderland (A), Brighton (A), Leeds (H)

Average difficulty: 10.1
First six fixtures: Nottingham Forest (A), Brentford (H), Brighton (A), Newcastle (H), Crystal Palace (H), Arsenal (A)

Average difficulty: 10.1
First six fixtures: Manchester United (H), Coventry (A), Aston Villa (H), Chelsea (A), Newcastle (A), Everton (H)

Average difficulty: 10
First six fixtures: Chelsea (H), Sunderland (A), Crystal Palace (H), Liverpool (A), Manchester United (H), Ipswich (A)

Average difficulty: 9.83
First six fixtures: Arsenal (A), Hull (H), Manchester City (A), Brighton (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Newcastle (H)

Average difficulty: 9.83
First six fixtures: Tottenham (H), Leeds (A), Sunderland (H), Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Aston Villa (A)

Average difficulty: 9.6
First six fixtures: Brentford (A), Newcastle (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Everton (H), Aston Villa (H), Manchester United (A)

Average difficulty: 9.5

Average difficulty: 9.1
First six fixtures: Bournemouth (H), Crystal Palace (A), Coventry (H), Manchester United (A), Sunderland (H), Liverpool (A)

Average difficulty: 9
First six fixtures: Aston Villa (H), Chelsea (A), Leeds (H), Coventry (A), Arsenal (H), Sunderland (A)

Average difficulty: 9
First six fixtures: Sunderland (H), Manchester United (A), Liverpool (H), Crystal Palace (A), Everton (A), Fulham (H)

Average difficulty: 9
First six fixtures: Manchester City (A), Everton (H), Newcastle (A), Brentford (H), Liverpool (H), Chelsea (A)

Average difficulty: 8.5