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It’s been 25 days since the last Premier League season ended. Hands up who’s missing it already? Anyone?! Ah. It was admittedly a long old slog of a campaign, with most of the drama resolved before the clocks went forward. Also, we haven’t really had a chance to miss the top flight’s biggest teams. If they’re not hiring and firing managers or splashing out on new players, they’re launching new kits or sweltering away at Copa Gianni. Still, the day that the giant super-computer at Premier League HQ (GSCAPLHQ) spits out reams of matchday fixtures is one to cherish, especially for the promoted sides.
Second-tier champions Leeds begin at home to Everton, while playoff drama kings Sunderland host West Ham – matches that fall into the ‘might be handy to win this, even if it’s literally the first game of the season’ category. As for Burnley, they go to Thomas Frank’s Tottenham in a fixture that feels particularly tough to envisage. Scott Parker’s transformation of the Clarets was one of last season’s most intriguing tales. Having gone down with 78 goals (2.05 per game) conceded under Vincent Kompany (who was rewarded with the Bayern Munich job) they turned to Parker, a manager not widely regarded as a catenaccio master. The Clarets were instantly transformed into one of Europe’s best defensive sides, letting in 16 goals in 46 games (0.35 per game). Even as you survey the growing chasm of resources and opportunity between England’s top two divisions, those are some spicy numbers.
