Five new managers to the Premier League will be eagerly awaiting the start of the 2019/20 season.
Daniel Farke, Frank Lampard, Graham Potter, Dean Smith and Chris Wilder will all hope to begin their Premier League careers in style as they take charge of Norwich City, Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa and Sheffield United respectively.
They have all been handed away fixtures on the opening weekend, against Liverpool, Manchester United, Watford, Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth.
And they will each try to fare better than the four managers on debut last season, who were unable to match the records of Sam Allardyce and Michael Laudrup.
These two men are responsible for the biggest wins for a manager on debut in Matchweek 1 of a Premier League campaign.
Allardyce's Bolton Wanderers defeated Leicester City 5-0 on the opening day of the 2001/02 campaign while Laudrup, in charge of Swansea City, had the same scoreline against Queens Park Rangers in 2012.
Best MW1 performances on debut
Manager | Club | Score | Opp | Season |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sam Allardyce | BOL | 5-0 | LEI | 2001/02 |
Michael Laudrup | SWA | 5-0 | QPR | 2012/13 |
Luiz Felipe Scolari | CHE | 4-0 | POR | 2008/09 |
Ian Holloway | BLP | 4-0 | WIG | 2010/11 |
Manuel Pellegrini | MCI | 4-0 | NEW | 2013/14 |
On the opening weekend of 2018/19, Unai Emery, Maurizio Sarri, Nuno Espirito Santo and Slavisa Jokanovic took charge of their first Premier League matches.
Sarri was the only debutant to oversee a victory. His side won 3-0 at Huddersfield Town, while Wolves drew 2-2 with Everton and both Arsenal and Fulham lost 2-0 to Manchester City and Crystal Palace respectively.
Duo's new ground
In fact, there will be two additional managers aiming to emulate Allardyce and Laudrup in their first Matchweek 1 fixture.
They are Ralph Hasenhuttl and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Hasenhuttl made his Premier League bow in December of last year and will target a victory at Burnley in his first opening-weekend match.
Success at Turf Moor would also give traditional Matchweek 1 strugglers Southampton only a third win in 21 outings.
Solskjaer has had two spells in the competition, with current club Manchester United and Cardiff City, but has never overseen a season opener.
He will get his chance on Sunday 11 August but faces a tricky test against Chelsea at Old Trafford.