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The Premier League fixture list hasn't thrown up any obvious classics for the opening day, but that doesn't mean there won't be a thriller or two. ESPNsoccernet looks through the archives to uncover some of the other memorable opening day games from the English top-flight.

Preston 5-2 Burnley (1888)
Though they had not yet won a trophy, Preston were the leading lights ahead of the inaugural season of the Football League. From August 1885 to April 1886, when friendly games made up the bulk of a club's fixture list, Preston had won 59 and drawn the other five of their 64 games; prior to their surprise defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the 1888 FA Cup final, they had won 42 games in succession. In their first league game on September 8, 1888, there was a clear sense of expectation, and it took them just three minutes to open the scoring at Deepdale, with Preston eventually running out comfortable 5-2 winners. It would have been enough to put them second top behind Derby, who beat Bolton Wanderers 6-3, but for the fact the rules of the league had not yet been decided. Preston continued to rack up the victories, winning their first six league games on the trot, but it was not until November 21 that it was decided that a points system - two for a win, one for a draw - would be used as opposed to just counting the wins. Whichever system the league adopted, Preston won have been clear and deserved winners: they won 18 and drew four of their 22 games, as well as lifting the FA Cup.

Aston Villa 10-0 Burnley (1925)
Close to a million fans turned out across the country on the opening day of the 1925-26 season amid the promise of goal gluts following a significant change to the offside rule. Previously, an attacker would be offside if he were nearer his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the third last opponent when a forward pass was made. From August 1925 - as the law remains today - it was reduced to two opponents. That meant, significally, that teams could no longer exploit the offside rule by relying on a 'one-back' defence system. On the opening day of the season, The Guardian reported, "stoppages for offside infringements were certainly rare - several games altogether free - but at the same time very few of Saturday's goals were scored either from positions or movements that would have required intervention under the old law". Even so, there was a huge increase in the number of goals scored, and Aston Villa took the greatest advantage. They had finished just five points ahead of Burnley the previous season, but it took forward Len Capewell around 20 seconds to give Villa the lead. He added a further four goals, aided by an injury that left the visitors with ten men, as Villa recorded their biggest win of the century. Players from both sides told the press after the game that the change in the offside law was going to make a huge difference to the number of goals scored, and the magnanimous Burnley outside right Robert Kelly, paraphrased in The Observer, said it would "effect a great improvement from the point of view of the spectators". They were not wrong: after 4,700 Football League goals were scored in the 1924-25 season, there was a 1,673 increase in 1925-26.

Chelsea 0-2 Carlisle United (1974)
Having risen from Division Four to Division One in little over a decade, Bill Shankly, who spent a year with Carlisle as a player, described their promotion to the English top-flight as "the greatest feat in the history of the game". Such were the limitations of their budget that manager Alan Ashman said ahead of the 1974-75 campaign in the top-flight that he had been warned the club "couldn't afford to be promoted". However, they made a remarkable start to life at the top. On the opening day, they travelled down to Chelsea, who had just signed Scotland midfielder David Hay for £200,000 and were opening their new £2 million stand, for an old fashioned battle between rich and poor. Chelsea, though, were not enjoying the best period, and it took Carlisle just 106 seconds to open the scoring. The hosts then dominated the game only to concede a second 15 minutes from time. Carlisle went on to beat Middlesbrough and Tottenham to go top with a 100% record after three games, and Ashman said: "We've shown we have the skill and character to survive in the First Division." Not unexpectedly, Carlisle thereafter lost the Midas touch and were relegated, along with Chelsea, as the division's bottom club.

Kevin Keegan failed to inspire Liverpool at Loftus Road © Getty Images

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QPR 2-0 Liverpool (1975)
Having risen through the divisions, QPR had enjoyed a couple of mid-table finishes in the top-flight by the time they kicked off the 1975-76 season. However, when they took on Liverpool - the eight-time title winners - on the opening day at Loftus Road, it was clear they were in a position to set their sights much higher. They had not beaten the Reds in their seven meetings to that point, but they showed their worth in a performance, as The Guardian had it, "which brimmed with vigour and fresh ideas and, more importantly, varied the tempo - andante, accelerando, allegro, andante - so that possession was not sacrificed to mere speed". That QPR team, featuring the likes of Gerry Francis, Stan Bowles and Frank McLintock, would ultimately prove to be Liverpool's big rivals that season, and it was not until Liverpool produced a late turnaround against Wolves on the final day that Bob Paisley's men were finally crowned champions. "Quality-wise, we were a match for Liverpool, but they could strengthen and we were a small, selling club," captain Gerry Francis later told When Saturday Comes. "Everyone says QPR were their second-favourite team at that time - a nice, family club who could beat anybody on their day."

Arsenal 0-1 Bristol City (1976)
Though Arsenal had finished a lowly 17th in the 1975-76 season - their worst campaign since 1925 and the arrival of Herbert Chapman - the £333,333.33 signing of England striker Malcolm Macdonald had buoyed expectations. A chance to host Bristol City, making their first top-flight appearance since 1911, brought the promise of a good start. Things did not go according to plan: The Robins won the game 1-0, and were unfortunate not to have scored four or five. "We were surprised at how easy it was," manager Alan Dicks said afterwards. "There are a lot of household names playing for Arsenal and they might have thought they could cruise through this one."

Sheffield United 2-1 Manchester United (1992)
Alex Ferguson finally won the English league title in the 1992-93 season, but it began with an almighty grumble. Sheffield United striker Brian Deane scored the first ever goal in England's newly-rebranded Premier League when he headed home four minutes in at Bramall Lane, but Ferguson's grumbles were with the referee. United might have been level midway through the first half when Blades 'keeper Simon Tracey brought down Ryan Giggs in the area, but referee Brian Hill waved the appeals away. Four minutes into the second half, though, Hill pointed to the spot when United centre-back Gary Pallister was adjudged to have fouled Alan Cork. It was particularly unusual that Sheffield United should have won a penalty. They had not had one in the entirety of the 1991-92 season and, as early as 1990, manager Dave Bassett had put forward the idea his men were harshly treated. "I wish we could get penalties like that," he said after a 4-1 defeat at Arsenal. "You have to rape our players for us to get one." When they did finally get their spot-kick against Manchester United, Deane made no mistake and he gave his team a two-goal lead. Mark Hughes later pulled one back but the visitors could not find an equaliser. Ferguson ushered in the new Premier League era with a familiar refrain. "There is always trouble when he referees our games," Ferguson said of Hill. "We would have objected beforehand but we were not notified."

Crystal Palace 1-6 Liverpool (1994)
Having secured promotion to the top-flight as champions with a team featuring the likes of Chris Armstrong, Nigel Martyn and Gareth Southgate, Crystal Palace were given a rude awakening in the Premier League as they were taken apart by the portly and largely immobile Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby. Molby was making his return after a lengthy spell out with a calf injury the previous season and, as The Independent's match report had it, he was "trimmer but still resembling the 'before' in a slimming ad". Even so, the Dane showed his mastery at Selhurst Park, opening the scoring from the penalty spot before pulling the strings to complete the rout. "He may be fat, he may be slow and he may have a tendency to visit dodgy nightclubs," the Observer reporter wrote, "but what cannot be denied is the 31-year-old's simple brilliance." Palace boss Alan Smith, though, was less concerned with Molby and more with his own defenders. "Our defending was horrific," he said. "I think they must have been listening to Terry Venables talk about his Christmas tree plan. We had the tree with all the presents on."

Jurgen Klinsmann is mobbed by his team-mates after his debut goal at Hillsborough © Getty Images

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Sheffield Wednesday 3-4 Tottenham (1994)
Tottenham had been docked six points going into the 1994-95 campaign as a result of financial irregularities, but they instantly set about clawing back the deficit with what Wednesday boss Trevor Francis labelled "the most adventurous line-up I've ever come across in management". World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann was the star attraction in Ossie Ardiles' 'Famous Five', but he was joined by fellow new boy Ilie Dumitrescu plus Teddy Sheringham, Darren Anderton and Nick Barmby. The experiment paid early dividends as Spurs ran up a half-time 2-0 lead at Hillsborough courtesy of Sheringham and Anderton and, though Wednesday hit back in the second half through Petrescu and a Colin Calderwood own goal, Barmby restored the lead. In the 82nd minute, Klinsmann marked his debut with a goal and performed his soon-to-be famous swallow dive celebration, on Sheringham's suggestion, in response to the perception he was fond of playacting. Wednesday pulled a goal back a minute later through David Hirst and could have levelled late on, but it was to be Klinsmann's day, even if he ended up being stretchered off following a clash with Des Walker and had to undergo a brain scan. "I'm okay," he said. "In fact, I'm perfect. I have to be satisfied with a goal."

Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester United (1995)
There was a real sense of turmoil at Manchester United in the summer of 1995. Having ended 1994-95 without a major trophy, Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis were all sold, Eric Cantona was still suspended from his attack on a Crystal Palace fan, and there were serious doubts about Alex Ferguson's future. The Manchester Evening News ran a poll over the manager's future, and a majority of the fans who responded wanted him out. The doubts only increased on the opening day at Villa Park. Ferguson had told the supporters to have faith in the club's youth, and his starting line-up that day featured four fresh-faced youngsters - Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes. During the first 45 minutes, the new-look team was wretched, falling 3-0 behind and providing ample ammunition for the critics. They improved in the second half, with David Beckham coming off the bench to reduce the deficit late on, but it was a performance that prompted Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen to famously declare that they would win "nothing with kids". United won eight and drew two of their next ten games before completing a league and cup double.

Wimbledon 0-3 Manchester United (1996)
A year on from the defeat at Aston Villa, Fergie's Fledglings looked to be in full flight. Having won the title the previous season, they had allowed Steve Bruce and Paul Parker to move on in the summer as they kept their faith firmly in youth. It was a relative old-timer, 30-year-old Eric Cantona, who opened the scoring, while 29-year-old Denis Irwin added the second on the hour. However, in the final minute came the confirmation that a new star was born: 21-year-old David Beckham saw Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan off his line and, from 55 yards, lobbed the ball into the net. "Goal of the season already," Ferguson said after the game.

Fabrizio Ravanelli scored a hat-trick on debut against Liverpool © PA Photos

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Middlesbrough 3-3 Liverpool (1996)
Liverpool were tipped to be Manchester United's biggest challengers for the 1996-97 season, but they came up against an expensively assembled Boro side on the opening day. Juninho and Nick Barmby had headed to Teeside in 1995, but after Bryan Robson's side endured a disappointing campaign in which they finished 12th, the chequebook came out again: Fabrizio Ravanelli arrived from Juventus for £7 million and Emerson joined for £4 million from Porto. It was to be Ravanelli's day. Liverpool thrice took the lead at the Riverside Stadium - through Stig Inge Bjornebye, John Barnes and Robbie Fowler - but each time 'The White Feather' hit back, completing his hat-trick in the 81st minute. "It's been a very interesting day," Ravanelli said afterwards. "Very pleasant."

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