The Premier League is widely regarded as the most competitive league for football predictions and there is often a shock or two thrown up most weekends.
That is no different when it comes to the annual curtain raiser, with at least one surprise result most seasons. Here, we look at the most shocking Premier League results on the opening weekend.
5) Coventry 3-2 Chelsea (1997/98)
This was not the Chelsea of today, title-winners five times over with a squad jam-packed with superstars.
They did however have Gianfranco Zola, not to mention Vialli and Di Matteo, and the brilliant Gus Poyet with his dad-bod.
Having embraced the new cosmopolitan era, the Blues would finish fourth this year and win the League Cup and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
Yet, if the hosts were unquestionably the underdogs what they did possess was a classic little and large strike partnership in the form of Darren Huckerby and Dion Dublin and it was the affable property guru who bagged a hat-trick here, in a famous win that is still talked about in the West Midlands.
4) Arsenal 1-3 Aston Villa (2013/14)
Perennial top four inhabitants under Arsene Wenger, the Gunners were expected to easily brush aside a Villa side that had circled the relegation drain for several seasons.
Having made a string of uninspiring signings that summer, Paul Lambert’s men were one of the favourites in the sports betting to finally drop come May.
A lack of exciting transfers was also the defining narrative for Arsenal, with the faithful making it crystal clear they were tired of the club under-investing, and perhaps this negativity spilled onto the pitch because, despite taking an early lead, the home side were shot of confidence throughout.
A Benteke brace – both pens, the latter of which wasn’t a spot-kick in a million years – plus a debut goal for Antonio Luna, exacerbated the doom and gloom in North London.
3) Wigan 0-4 Blackpool (2010/11)
Surprise results don’t always have to involve a giant being slayed.
After coming up via the Play-Offs, Blackpool went into their first ever Premier League clash having seen their dream considerably sour over the summer.
By committing to a new stand being built it meant the Tangerines were skint and not even the persuasive patter of Ian Holloway could convince players to head to the seaside on such meagre wages.
Just three days before the season kicked off, Blackpool had only 15 eligible players.
A raft of last-minute deals were done and at least these bunch of strangers had a favourable opening challenge, Wigan being mainstays of the top-flight but always by disproving the Premier League odds.
Even so, nobody could have possibly predicted a result – and performance – that saw Blackpool top the footballing pyramid for the first time since the mid-Fifties. They lost their next game 6-0.
2) Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester United (1995/96)
It was so tempting to put this in first place, and not because it held any shock-value because it really didn’t.
Though United were the dominant force in English football, awash with household names, their opponents on this seismic afternoon would ultimately finish fourth.
Villa were pretty damn decent in the mid-Nineties.
No, it arguably deserves top spot because what occurred has subsequently gone down in lore, with a full page in the history books reserved for the game itself and the fall-out.
Think of United’s struggles with an unfamiliar set-up and unfamiliar line-up that August day and thoughts immediately drift to a shiny Alan Hansen claiming ‘You can’t win anything with kids’, a reference to Sir Alex Ferguson selling Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Mark Hughes that summer and replacing them with homegrown talent.
Of course, United would go on to win the double that season. The kids were alright.
1) Arsenal 2-4 Norwich City (1992/93)
It simply had to be this game.
The game that saw the Canaries kick-start the Premier League era by pegging back a two-goal, first-half deficit courtesy of a ridiculous 15 minutes of football, all played out before a painted mural of ‘fans’, to hide building work behind it.
First Mark Robins poached in typical style before a David Seaman error of judgement brought the scores level.
A Ruel Fox effort made the wall of happy supporters look decidedly ironic, before Robins lobbed from distance, a goal that featured in every ‘101 goals’ VHS released thereafter.
If this was the Premier League, count us in.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
