Arsenal open the 2026/27 campaign at home to Coventry City, their first fixture as reigning Premier League champions since August 2004. Mikel Arteta’s side ended a 22-year wait for the title last season, and the harder job of holding on to it begins under the lights at Emirates Stadium.
Coventry arrive as EFL Championship winners under Frank Lampard, back in the top flight for the first time since 2001. The gap between the two clubs is reflected in the Arsenal vs Coventry odds, though opening weekends have a longer record of catching defending Premier League champions cold.
In this article, we look back at how recent Premier League champions have handled the first match of their title defence, and what those results went on to mean.
Premier League Champions: Arsenal 2004/05
Arsenal’s last title defence started at Goodison Park on August 15, 2004, and it started well. The Invincibles won 4-1 to stretch their unbeaten league run to 41 matches, a sequence that reached 49 before Manchester United ended it at Old Trafford that October. None of it was enough, as Chelsea won the league by 12 points, and Arsenal did not lift the trophy again for another 22 years. Everton, beaten at home on that opening afternoon, went on to finish fourth.
Premier League Champions: Chelsea 2015/16
Chelsea were held 2-2 by Swansea City at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of 2015/16, twice leading and twice being pegged back. Thibaut Courtois was sent off midway through the second half for bringing down Bafetimbi Gomis, and the striker scored the resulting penalty. The Belgian goalkeeper missed the trip to Manchester City the following week, Jose Mourinho was sacked before Christmas, and the champions finished 10th. Nothing about that afternoon looked like the start of a collapse at the time.
Premier League Champions: Leicester City 2016/17
Leicester City became the first defending champions to lose their opening fixture when they went to newly promoted Hull City in August 2016 and lost 2-1. Adama Diomande and Robert Snodgrass scored either side of a Riyad Mahrez penalty for a Hull side who began the season without a permanent manager. Claudio Ranieri was sacked in February 2017, and a side that had won the league last season finished 12th, although they did reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
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Premier League Champions: Manchester City 2021/22
Manchester City became the second reigning champion to taste defeat on the opening day, as they were beaten 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in August 2021 by a Son Heung-min goal 10 minutes into the second half, with Harry Kane left out of the home side entirely and Jack Grealish making his league debut after a £100 million move. Opening weekend results tend to dominate early coverage across football betting and punditry alike, yet Pep Guardiola’s side recovered to win the title by a single point on the final day of the season.
Premier League Champions: Liverpool 2025/26
Liverpool started last season with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth at Anfield, which was far less comfortable than the scoreline reads. Arne Slot’s side led 2-0 through Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo before two Antoine Semenyo goals levelled it, and late strikes from Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah settled the match. Liverpool won the opener and still ended the season without the trophy, finishing fifth, 25 points behind an Arsenal team who spent 200 days at the top of the table.
Only two defending champions have lost their opening fixture, and only one of them went on to unravel. Arsenal are heavy favourites on Friday night, which is roughly where Leicester City and Manchester City stood as reigning Premier League champions on the opening day.
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