The best and worst opening day records of the past decade

The new Premier League season gets underway tonight and a new study has given us some insight as to which sets of fans might be feeling the most optimistic based on previous experiences.

The first bit of action takes place on Friday night with newly-promoted Brentford hosting fellow London club Arsenal.

The likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool will feature on a seven-match Saturday before Tottenham host Manchester City in the pick of the games on Sunday afternoon.

Ahead of the campaign Bookmakers.TV have taken a look at the records of the 20 top flight clubs in their respective opening day fixtures over the past decade.

Their research found that Man City have fared the best by far, winning all 10 since the 2011-12 season. In that time they have scored 29 goals and conceded just three, giving them a goal difference that is 11 clear of the nearest challenger.

It's local rivals Man United that trail them, beginning with a victory on eight occasions and boasting an overall goal difference of 15.

A surprise inclusion in the top five is Watford, with the promoted side holding a record of five wins, four draws and one defeat.

Liverpool and Chelsea also sit near the top with the Reds also having managed to find the net an impressive 24 times in their season openers, second only to City.

The table doesn't make quite as good viewing for Newcastle supporters with their team sitting rock bottom, having only managed to accumulate eight points in the same period.

Other poor starters include West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion – all three clubs recording a disappointing three wins in opening round matches.

Fans hoping to see goals would do well to tune into Liverpool and Leeds' matches with their season openers averaging 3.9 goals and 3.5 goals respectively.

On the other hand, the Spurs faithful might not be too excited for early goals with theirs seeing just 19 goals, 11 of which they conceded.

A spokesperson for Bookmakers.TV said: 'The beginning of a football is season is something that fans up and down the country truly savour, but perhaps Newcastle United, West Ham United and Crystal Palace fans will be wishing they could have watched England for a bit longer.

'With Manchester City making big signings this summer, it looks as though they'll pick up where they left off from last season.

'Watford fans should be proud too – they're closer to City in this ranking than they'll ever be in the real table.'

City are favourites to retain their title with odds of 4/5 with Chelsea and Liverpool also fancied at 5/1.

Manchester United are the only other team the bookies think have a good shot at 8/1 with the rest at 50/1 or longer.