Football writer Ninad Barbadikar looks at which teams – on paper – have the hardest starts to the 2025/26 Premier League season.
The wait is over. A new Premier League season is nearly upon us.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool dominated the league last season, winning the title with four games to spare. They will be out to defend their crown with Arsenal and Manchester City, amongst others, hot on their heels.
The battle for European places was a pulsating one in 2024/25 and we can expect a repeat of that.
The three promoted sides will attempt to surprise a team or two as Leeds United and Burnley are joined by play-off winners Sunderland, who return to the top flight for the first time since being relegated in 2017.
To judge the opening set of fixtures for each team, we will use the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR) which has long been a helpful resource for Fantasy Premier League managers in putting their squads together from one Matchweek to another.
The FDR is based on a complex algorithm developed by FPL experts.
We will use those ratings to assess the first 10 games for each Premier League team and help you understand which team has the easiest start and which one has the hardest.
Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR) for Matchweeks 1 to 10
Man Utd, Palace, Fulham and Burnley handed hardest starts
Amongst the teams with the toughest starts for the season are Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United and Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace. Both have FDR figures of 3.20.
Following a disappointing 2024/25 campaign in which they finished 15th in the Premier League and lost the UEFA Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur, Man Utd will aim to start afresh in the 2025/26 season.
After hosting Arsenal in an opening-weekend blockbuster at Old Trafford, Man Utd will also have to play Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool by the time they reach Matchweek 10 when they will face Nottingham Forest.
As for Palace, their new season kicks off with three difficult meetings – Chelsea away, Forest at Selhurst Park, and an away trip to Aston Villa.
However, they may have some respite after that, with easier games against Sunderland and West Ham United.
By the end of Matchweek 10, the FA Cup holders will also have faced Liverpool and Arsenal, which helps to explain why they have such a high FDR figure.
Fulham and Championship runners-up Burnley also have FDR figures of 3.20; they both open their campaigns with away matches, against Spurs and Brighton respectively.
Easiest starts for Spurs and Sunderland
Thomas Frank’s new chapter at Spurs has been dealt the joint-easiest hand amongst the 20 Premier League clubs.
The north London side, who open the 2025/26 season at home to Burnley, have an average FDR figure of 2.70 for their first 10 fixtures. This means it could be a potentially useful period of games to help the team adjust to Frank’s tactics on the pitch.
Following the visit from the Clarets, Spurs will travel to Man City in Matchweek 2. That is the toughest test of their opening five fixtures, which also include matches against AFC Bournemouth, West Ham and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Meanwhile, Premier League returnees Sunderland are level with Spurs in the FDR table, also on 2.70. Regis Le Bris' debut as a Premier League manager will be at home to West Ham as Graham Potter's team make the long trip to the North East.
Another newly promoted club, Leeds United, are level with Wolverhampton Wanderers for the joint second-easiest start to the new season, with an average FDR of 2.80 each.
Daniel Farke’s side kick things off with a visit from Everton to Elland Road which is followed by tougher tests against Arsenal away followed by Newcastle United at home.
Forest and Chelsea to kick on from strong 2024/25 season
Both Forest and Chelsea have the opportunity to build on the foundations of an impressive last campaign.
Enzo Maresca’s side became UEFA Conference League champions, beating Real Betis in the final. Meanwhile, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest qualified for Europe for the first time in 30 years, claiming a place in the Conference League after only falling short of a UEFA Champions League spot on the final day.
Chelsea and Forest are both on the easier side of the FDR spectrum, level in the rankings with an average 2.90 rating for their respective first 10 fixtures.
The Blues' campaign will get under way at home to Palace, who also enjoyed success last season, winning the FA Cup which resulted in direct qualification to the Europa League.
Interestingly enough, the first four fixtures for Maresca and co. all come against fellow London clubs, with the Palace game being followed by short trips to West Ham and Brentford either side of a meeting with Fulham at Stamford Bridge. The lack of travel time could very well work in their favour.
Forest begin their season at home to Brentford, followed by a visit to Selhurst Park to face the FA Cup winners.
Also on a 2.90 FDR figure are West Ham, who finished 14th in the 2024/25 season. They begin their season with a visit to Sunderland.
Mixed bags for Newcastle and Man City
Diving into midtable of the FDR rankings, Newcastle and Man City are level with a rating of 3.0.
Newcastle start their season with two difficult fixtures back to back; the Carabao Cup holders have an away fixture against Villa, followed by a visit from the champions Liverpool in Matchweek 2.
Beyond those two difficult tests, Newcastle have easier tests with a trip to Elland Road followed by a visit from Wolves at St. James’ Park.
Pep Guardiola’s revamped Man City side kick off the new season with a relatively straightforward set of fixtures, starting with a trip to Wolves followed by their first game at home, against Spurs.
Fans will not have to wait long for the Manchester derby to add to the excitement of the new season, as Man City will go head-to-head against their local rivals Man Utd in Matchweek 4.
Everton and Brentford’s fixtures also give them an FDR figure of 3.0. David Moyes’ team open their season at Leeds, so will have to wait until Matchweek 2 to play their first Premier League fixture at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Brighton being the visitors. Brentford's first game in the division after Frank's departure will be at Forest.
Tough first 10 matches for Liverpool and Arsenal
The teams with more difficult starts to the season include the two sides who led the title race last season, as Arsenal and Liverpool both have an FDR figure of 3.1.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners open their campaign with a huge game against old rivals Man Utd at Old Trafford. In their last five visits to Manchester, Arsenal have only come away with a victory on two occasions.
Before Matchweek 10, Arsenal will go on to face Liverpool and Man City as well as Newcastle, with all of these difficult fixtures contributing to their higher FDR figure.
It’s a similar story for Liverpool, who begin at home to Bournemouth but then have to face Newcastle away and also have a visit to Stamford Bridge and home meetings with Man Utd and Villa within their first 10 fixtures.
