The Premier League is back and opening fixtures don’t come much bigger than Chelsea vs Liverpool.
While clubs in the top six are separated for matchday one, the Blues’ disastrous season last term means that the 12th-place finishers were offered no such protection upon fixture release day.
As a result, we could be in for a cracker.
Mauricio Pochettino will be preparing for his first competitive match as Chelsea boss after taking over at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have something of a reputation as opening day specialists, having won 20 of their 31 season-openers, losing just five times.
With a win percentage of 64.5 per cent, Chelsea’s hopes of victory could be boosted by Pochettino’s own impressive record.
The Argentine boss has the joint-best win percentage among current Premier League managers, alongside Jurgen Klopp.
Out of seven opening weekend fixtures, Pochettino’s sides have won five of those games, with a win percentage of 71.4 for the former Southampton and Tottenham boss.
However, if Chelsea think they’ll have things all their own way they’re mistaken as they face the prospect of taking on one of the Premier League’s quickest starters.
Everyone knows how much of a star Mohamed Salah is, but the Liverpool star boasts an impressive record of scoring in all six of his season openers with Liverpool, a Premier League record.
No player has scored in more than four consecutive opening-day fixtures, while Salah’s tally of eight in those six games is a record that he shares with a record that he shares with Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney.
With the Egyptian star desperate to continue his impressive goalscoring run, it means that the clash at Stamford Bridge promises to be an absolute cracker.
talkSPORT will have four Premier League matches live across the opening weekend and you can check out the fixtures in full HERE.