“Opta Power Rankings rate a frankly enormous number of teams (15,000+) across the globe based on a system that scores the current strongest side 100 and the weakest zero,” they explain. “Those scores are then used to rank the teams in order of strongest to weakest.
“Focusing on the Premier League, we looked at the average Opta Power Rating of each team’s opponents to measure fixture difficulty.
“These range from Liverpool (the number one team in the world with a Opta Power Rating of 100.0 and therefore the hardest to play against) to Sunderland (ranked 123rd in the world with a Opta Power Rating of 82.3 and therefore the ‘easiest’ team to play against in England’s top flight).”
With Newcastle United travelling to Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the campaign and a week later hosting reigning champions Liverpool in their St James’ Park opener, Eddie Howe’s side will certainly feel as though they’ve been dealt a tough hand.
But how does that compare to their top-flight rivals? Ranked from easiest to toughest - here’s Opta verdict on each team’s opening 10 fixtures:
Opening 10 fixtures: Manchester City (H), AFC Bournemouth (A), Everton (H), Newcastle United (A), Leeds United (H), Tottenham Hotspur (A), Brighton (H), Sunderland (A), Burnley (H), Fulham (A).
1. Wolverhampton Wanderers - 91.2
Opening 10 fixtures: Manchester City (H), AFC Bournemouth (A), Everton (H), Newcastle United (A), Leeds United (H), Tottenham Hotspur (A), Brighton (H), Sunderland (A), Burnley (H), Fulham (A). | Wolves via Getty Images
Opening 10 fixtures: Crystal Palace (H), West Ham United (A), Fulham (H), Brentford (A), Manchester United (A), Brighton (H), Liverpool (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Sunderland (H), Tottenham Hotspur (A).
2. Chelsea - 91.5
Opening 10 fixtures: Crystal Palace (H), West Ham United (A), Fulham (H), Brentford (A), Manchester United (A), Brighton (H), Liverpool (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Sunderland (H), Tottenham Hotspur (A). | Getty Images
Opening 10 fixtures: West Ham United (H), Burnley (A), Brentford (H), Crystal Palace (A), Aston Villa (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Manchester United (A), Wolves (H), Chelsea (A), Everton (H).
3. Sunderland - 91.8
Opening 10 fixtures: West Ham United (H), Burnley (A), Brentford (H), Crystal Palace (A), Aston Villa (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Manchester United (A), Wolves (H), Chelsea (A), Everton (H). Photo: Mike Hewitt
Opening 10 fixtures: Everton (H), Arsenal (A), Newcastle United (H), Fulham (A), Wolves (A), Bournemouth (H), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Burnley (A), West Ham United (H), Brighton (A).
4. Leeds United - 91.9
Opening 10 fixtures: Everton (H), Arsenal (A), Newcastle United (H), Fulham (A), Wolves (A), Bournemouth (H), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Burnley (A), West Ham United (H), Brighton (A). | Getty Images