“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:
5. Nottingham Forest - 92.0
Opening 10 fixtures: Brentford (H), Crystal Palace (A), West Ham United (H), Arsenal (A), Burnley (A), Sunderland (H), Newcastle United (A), Chelsea (H), Bournemouth (A), Manchester United (H). | Getty Images
6. Everton - 92.2
Opening 10 fixtures: Leeds United (A), Brighton (H), Wolves (A), Aston Villa (H), Liverpool (A), West Ham United (H), Crystal Palace (H), Manchester City (A), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Sunderland (A). | AFP via Getty Images
7. West Ham United - 92.2
Opening 10 fixtures: Sunderland (A), Chelsea (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Crystal Palace (H), Everton (A), Arsenal (A), Brentford (H), Leeds United (A), Newcastle United (H). | Getty Images
8. Tottenham Hotspur - 92.2
Opening 10 fixtures: Burnley (H), Manchester City (A), Bournemouth (H), West Ham United (A), Brighton (A), Wolves (H), Leeds United (A), Aston Villa (H), Everton (A), Chelsea (H). | Getty Images