Who does Opta think has the toughest first five games?

18 June 2025

Opta has ranked the difficulty of each top-flight team's first five Premier League fixtures of the 2025-26 season.

According to Opta's model, Manchester United have the hardest start, followed by their opening-weekend opponents Arsenal and then Bournemouth.

Aston Villa's first five games have been ranked the easiest, alongside Crystal Palace.

Take a look below to see where your side places...

Opta graphic showing the relative fixture difficulty for each Premier League team's first five games of the season, according to its model, from hardest to easiest: Man Utd, Arsenal, Bournemouth, Everton, Liverpool, Wolves, Newcastle, Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Man City, Brighton, Tottenham, Fulham, Sunderland, Chelsea, Brentford, Burnley, West Ham, Crystal palace, Aston Villa.