The start of a Premier League season is often the most important part of the new season. It normally defines how a side will fare over the course of the campaign.
Just look at Newcastle United and their start to the season last campaign. The Geordies went the first 10 games of the 2018/2019 season without a win, which set them up for a relegation battle for much of last season. Newcastle only steered clear of relegation towards the back end of April, showing how a poor start can derail your season.
While the Canaries’ goal will be to stay up following their lack of spending in this summer’s transfer window, their first six Premier League games show they can be in for a tougher season than they expect.
So, let’s have a look at the first six games and see where Daniel Farke’s side can get some points.
The first game for Farke is Liverpool away, a stern test of the Norwich squad. Liverpool were imperious last season and accumulated the most points a runner up has ever made in Premier League history. Their quality is scary, and Norwich may be looking at a draw at the most on the 9th of August.
Their second game is arguably the easiest of the first six as they face Newcastle United at Carrow Road. Steve Bruce’s side will be coming off the back of what should be a loss as they open the season at home to Arsenal, who won 2-1 on Tyneside last season. And following a far from positive summer, as they lost manager Rafael Benitez, this represents Farke’s greatest chance of three points.
The next three are quite difficult as they face Chelsea (home), West Ham United (away), and Manchester City (home). The games against Chelsea and Manchester City speak for themselves, Norwich won’t expect points, however, in football you never know.
Realistically, the game against West Ham could be the Norfolk side’s best chance of points in the trio of games. However, after adding the likes of Pablo Fornals, who won the UEFA under-21 European Championship this summer, and the highly-rated Sebastian Haller, even a point seems unlikely.
The final game of the opening six will be away to Burnley. While the Lancashire side weren’t at their best last season, dropping from 7th place in the 2017/2018 season to a lowly 15th place last season, the game will be at Turf Moor, and away games are always tough. 15 of the Premier League’s 20 teams had a negative goal difference away from home last season, showing the difficulty of playing away from home.
Norwich City face a difficult start, however, with the pressure being off them they could shock a few of us at the start of the season.
