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Chelsea seek to run opening day unbeaten streak to 19 (and other stats)

By George Perry

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 22: A general view of the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge on January 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 22: A general view of the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge on January 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea almost always enjoy the opening day of the Premier League season. They have not lost their first match of the season since 1998, and have only lost three openers in the Premier League era.

The Premier League’s schedulers tend to set Chelsea up for success on opening day. Over the last 20 years, Chelsea have started their season against a team that would finish in the bottom half of the table 16 times. On four occasions the Blues’ opening day opponent ended the season with relegation.

Perhaps helped by the friendly scheduling, Chelsea are undefeated on the last 18 opening days. The most recent loss was in 1998/99, 2-1 away to Coventry City. Unusually, that was the second year in a row the Blues faced Coventry on opening day. The result in the previous edition was also a loss, 3-2 away. These were the only two years in which Chelsea played the same opponents for back-to-back openers.

Before that double act against Coventry City, Chelsea had only lost one other Premier League opener: a 2-1 affair at home against Blackburn in 1993.

Must Read: Chelsea's predicted 3-4-2-1 for Premier League opener vs Burnley

Over the last 20 years, Chelsea have outscored their opening day opponents 48-18. The biggest win in that span was a 6-0 trouncing of West Bromwich Albion in 2010. Didier Drogba opened his seasonal account with a hat-trick, along with a brace from Florent Malouda and a goal from Frank Lampard.

That victory was one of nine opening day clean sheets. Petr Cech would repeat the feat the next three seasons. Future Blues had a role in three of those. Former Chelsea player and then-future-manager Roberto di Matteo was on the losing end of the West Bromwich Albion match.

The next season, Cech battled his future teammate Asmir Begovic to a 0-0 draw against Stoke. And in 2012, despite not getting on the scoresheet, Wigan’s dynamic young winger Victor Moses showed why he was one of Chelsea’s top transfer targets.

Next: Four things to look for as Chelsea open their Premier League season vs Burnley

The last time Chelsea and Burnley squared off on opening day was a mere three years ago. Burnley went on to be relegated, while Jose Mourinho led the Blues to a Premier League and League Cup double

All data from thechels.info and the Premier League.

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