City begin their Premier League season against Bournemouth on Sunday, when Enzo Maresca takes charge of his first league game since succeeding Pep.
Opening day has generally been kind to City in recent years.
Nine of their past 10 Premier League campaigns have started with a victory, a run stretching from Sunderland in 2016 to Wolves last season.
The exception was a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in August 2021.
Go further back, though, and City’s opening-day story looks very different.
The club entered the Football League as Ardwick in 1892, two years before becoming Manchester City. Relegations and promotions remained part of their history long after the Premier League arrived a century later.
City’s first Premier League fixture was a 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers at Maine Road in August 1992.
More than three decades later, Bournemouth arrive at the Etihad for the start of another campaign — and the first of the post-Guardiola era.
Man City’s Premier League opening-day record
City have, of course, not been ever-present in the Premier League.
They were relegated in 1996 and, after returning four years later, went down again in 2001. Kevin Keegan brought them straight back as First Division champions and City have remained in the top flight since 2002.
Their opening-day record has improved considerably along the way.
Across City’s first 29 Premier League opening fixtures, they have won 17.
Before last season, the club’s own figures showed 16 victories from 28 opening games. Victory at Wolves in 2025/26 took that tally to 17.
That is a win rate of almost 59%.
City actually had to wait until 2003 for their first Premier League opening-day victory.
Nicolas Anelka, Antoine Sibierski and Sun Jihai scored as Kevin Keegan’s side won 3-0 at Charlton Athletic.
What followed over the next two decades reflected City’s transformation as a club.
City’s last 10 Premier League openers
The recent numbers are difficult to ignore.
| Season | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Wolves | Away | W |
| 2024/25 | Chelsea | Away | W 2-0 |
| 2023/24 | Burnley | Away | W 3-0 |
| 2022/23 | West Ham | Away | W 2-0 |
| 2021/22 | Tottenham | Away | L 0-1 |
| 2020/21 | Wolves | Away | W 3-1 |
| 2019/20 | West Ham | Away | W 5-0 |
| 2018/19 | Arsenal | Away | W 2-0 |
| 2017/18 | Brighton | Away | W 2-0 |
| 2016/17 | Sunderland | Home | W 2-1 |
City have therefore won nine of their last 10 Premier League openers.
The only defeat came at Tottenham in 2021, when Son Heung-min scored the only goal.
There have been few narrow escapes among the victories, either.
West Ham were beaten 5-0 in 2019, Wolves 3-1 the following season and Burnley 3-0 in 2023.
City also won 2-0 away to Arsenal in 2018 and by the same score at Chelsea in 2024.
Starting quickly became one of the characteristics of Guardiola’s City.
Maresca now inherits that record.
Haaland has enjoyed the opening weekend
Erling Haaland has played his part in City’s recent success. Obviously.
His Premier League debut came at West Ham in August 2022 amid considerable interest in how quickly his goalscoring record in Germany would translate to English football.
The answer arrived immediately.
Haaland scored both goals in a 2-0 victory.
A year later, he struck twice more as City opened their title defence with a 3-0 win at Burnley.
He was on target again at Chelsea in August 2024, scoring the opening goal before Mateo Kovacic secured a 2-0 victory against his former club.
Haaland scored five goals across his first three Premier League opening appearances.
Sergio Aguero also had a habit of making an early impression.
The Argentine made his City debut as a substitute against Swansea City in August 2011 and scored twice in a 4-0 win.
It was a useful introduction to a player who would finish his City career as the club’s record goalscorer.
City were there at the start of Monday Night Football
City also occupy a small but significant place in the history of Premier League broadcasting.
Their first fixture in the newly formed competition came against Queens Park Rangers at Maine Road in August 1992.
It was also the first edition of Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
David White put City ahead before Andy Sinton equalised in a 1-1 draw.
The evening became remembered as much for the television production as the football. English football was entering the satellite television era and Maine Road provided the backdrop for one of the Premier League’s earliest experiments.
City’s journey from there was hardly straightforward.
They were relegated four years later.
By 1998 they had dropped into the third tier, before successive promotions under Joe Royle took them back to the Premier League.
Another relegation followed in 2001, before Keegan’s side returned at the first attempt.
They have not been relegated since.
Opening day reflects City’s transformation
City’s history can almost be divided by their opening-day results.
Their early Premier League record was patchy. They did not win an opener in the competition until 2003.
In recent years, defeat has become the exception.
City have since won 10 English top-flight championships, including eight Premier League titles.
Four of those came consecutively between 2020/21 and 2023/24, the first time a men’s club had won four successive English top-flight championships.
Guardiola’s teams became particularly adept at beginning seasons with little fuss.
Nine victories from the past 10 opening weekends tell their own story.
Bournemouth provide Maresca’s first league test
Sunday brings a change that goes well beyond the opposition.
For the first time since August 2016, Guardiola will not be City’s manager on the opening weekend of a Premier League season.
Maresca knows the Etihad and the demands of the club from his previous spell on Guardiola’s coaching staff.
Being the man ultimately responsible is different.
His competitive start has already provided a reminder of that. Arsenal beat City 3-0 in the Community Shield at Wembley last weekend.
Bournemouth now provide the first opportunity to respond with league points.
The history is firmly in City’s favour.
They have won 17 of their 29 Premier League opening fixtures and nine of the past 10.
Those numbers belong to teams managed by somebody else, however.
Sunday is the first opportunity for Maresca to begin building a record of his own.
For updates on City throughout the season, take a look at our LIVE! Premier League 2026 / 27 News, Transfers, Updates & Viral Moments page.
