The Premier League makes its eagerly awaited return this weekend following a two-week absence due to the international break, and Saturday promises to be an absolute sizzler as all three of the early unbeaten top-flight title contenders take to the field of play.
We are, of course, talking about defending champions Man City, along with Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea, and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, with each team locked on 20 points after eight waves of fixtures.
It goes without saying that each club has enjoyed a cracking start to the campaign, but where do they each rank in the Premier League’s table of best ever starts at this stage of the season (eight games in)?
We take a look.
Mourinho Takes Top Billing
The best start ever to a Premier League season, in terms of both points and wins, was the Chelsea side of 2005/06 in Jose Mourinho's second season in charge.
The Blues swatted away the challenge of each of their opening eight opponents, accumulating a record 24 points, and conceding only two goals after eight matches. Mourinho's men, who are the only team to ever win eight from eight, would go on to take the title with 91 points to their name.
Where Are Pep’s Record Breakers?
A total of six teams sit in joint second on 22 points, separated only by goal difference. Two of the six are different Man City teams, one of which is Pep Guardiola's side from last season who won seven and drew one of their first eight games, scoring a titanic 29 goals - a record at this stage of the season - before going to break a flurry of other records en route to top-flight glory.
The 20 Point Club
So we now have the top-7 in place in the all-time list.
Next in the running are Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle (1995/96) - who were of course pipped by Man Utd in the end - and Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea (2009/10) on 21 points, then there's a list of a whopping 11 sides that have recorded 20 points from eight matches, including the aforementioned trio of Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool in the current campaign.
Of those three sides it's Guardiola's City - top of the current table - who are ranked the highest in 12th thanks to their superior goal difference, followed by Chelsea in 16th, then Liverpool in 19th.
Perhaps surprisingly, no Man Utd side in the history of the Premier League has ever accumulated more points at this stage of the season than the current Liverpool side.
What Next?
Only 11 teams have previously collected 23 points or more from the opening nine games, a group that City, Chelsea and Liverpool will be attempting to join this weekend.
The Blues arguably have the toughest challenge on Saturday as Sarri’s men come up against their former boss Mourinho who brings Man Utd to Stamford Bridge in the early kick-off. City host Burnley at 3pm, then Liverpool travel to Huddersfield in the evening kick-off.
There's still a long way to go, but from what we've seen so far this season it promises to be a belter, with a title race that could well go right down to the wire.
