Ranking the best opening-day Premier League games of all time

The first weekend of the season is always one of the most exciting, with new players, new teams and new hopes. Here, Ladbrokes ranks the five best opening-day Premier League games of all time.

From a blockbuster at Hillsborough in the 90s to Jurgen Klopp's electric Liverpool side of 2016, the opening day has seen some special performances over the years - and a bucket-load of goals.

Every team wants to get their season off to the perfect start, and doing it as the victors of a cracker make it even sweeter. So without further ado, let's have a look at Ladbrokes' five best opening-day Premier League games of all time.

When the Premier League was still in its early years, Spurs travelled to Hillsborough to kick-off their season away at Sheffield Wednesday, and left with all three points after an unforgettable clash.

Teddy Sheringham and Darren Anderton put the visitors 2-0 up inside the first half, before a strike from Dan Petrescu and a thumping own goal from Colin Calderwood drew the Owls level. Nicky Barmby then restored Tottenham's lead before summer signing Jurgen Klinsmann powered a header home to put beyond Sheffield Wednesday, which was subsequently followed by his now iconic diving celebration.

A late goal from David Hirst made the final ten minutes interesting, but Spurs held on to start their season in real style.

Fast forward nearly 30 years, and the Premier League opening day produced another of its most memorable games, with Newcastle running out 5-1 winners against an Aston Villa side who would go on to finish fourth, qualifying for the Champions League.

An early goal by debutant Sandro Tonali gave the hosts the lead, before a swift equaliser by another debutant, Moussa Diaby, drew Villa level. However, Alexander Isak put Newcastle ahead five minute later, before doubling his tally 15 minutes into the second half.

Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes rounded off an excellent day for the Magpies - who will be hoping for a similar performance when they travel to Villa Park on the opening weekend of the 2025/26 season.

2020 may not have had any fans inside the stadiums, but that didn't stop teams producing games of the highest quality on the pitch - with Liverpool 4-3 Leeds kicking off the season with a bang.

It took just four minutes for Mohamed Salah to make his mark on the new campaign, before Jack Harrison equalised for newly-promoted Leeds after 12 minutes. Virgil van Dijk then gave the hosts the lead again, before Patrick Bamford slotted home to quickly halt the celebrations - only for Salah to get his second three minutes later, giving Liverpool a 3-2 half-time lead.

Mateusz Klich scored Leeds' third equaliser of the night midway through the second half, before Mo Salah did what he does best and completed his hattrick in the 88th minute. The Egyptian has a ridiculous record in opening-day fixtures, and is once again among the favourites to win the Golden Boot this season.

The 2017/18 season began with some Friday-night fireworks at the Emirates, as Arsenal and Leicester played out one of the most memorable Premier League games ever.

It was already 1-1 after five minutes, with Shinji Okazaki cancelling out Alexandre Lacazette's second-minute opener, and Jamie Vardy smashed the Foxes into the lead after half an hour. Danny Welbeck levelled the scores just before half time, but it didn't take long for Vardy to restore Leicester's advantage, heading home just before the hour mark.

Then the game really exploded, with quickfire goals from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud flipping the match on its head inside the final 10 minutes to cement the game's place firmly within this illustrious list.

Perhaps the Emirates is the place to be on opening weekend, because just a year earlier, Arsenal and Liverpool played out the best opening-day Premier League game of all time, with a blockbuster 4-3 win for the visitors capturing everyone's attention.

Arsenal actually took the lead through Theo Walcott, before Philippe Coutinho scored an incredible free kick to ensure Liverpool went in level at half time - but then the game caught fire.

Adam Lallana scored for Liverpool just four minutes into the second half, before Coutinho grabbed his second less than 10 minutes later. Not to be outdone, new signing Sadio Mane then smashed the ball into the top corner after making a mockery of Arsenal's defence, giving Liverpool a 4-1 lead.

A minute later, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled one back, and a Calum Chambers strike made Liverpool sweat for the last 15 minutes - but the Reds held on to register a memorable victory and condemn Arsenal to defeat in front of their own fans.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.