As Tottenham Hotspur get set to take to the road on the opening day of their new season, we revisit their best five opening day matches of the Premier League era.
The trip to Leicester City on Monday night will be the ninth time The Lilywhites travel to their opposition for the first game of the season.
Of the 32 opening day fixtures they have played since the league was founded in 1992, the North Londoners possess a rather inconsistent record, boasting thirteen wins, nine draws and ten defeats so far.
Beginning the season with maximum points has been a formality for Ange Postecoglou's side in recent years, with Spurs last falling to defeat on match day one in August 2015, losing 1-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Although it is worth noting that last season they did play out a score draw with Brentford.
What better way to begin this blast to the past, than with an away London Derby victory to kickstart Tottenham's 2014/15 season.
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West Ham 0-1 Tottenham, 2014/15
Newly-appointed Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino began his Tottenham career with a trip to East London, for a fierce London Derby clash on the opening day of the 2014/15 Premier League campaign.
The Argentinian tactician handed a debut to defender Eric Dier - who would go on to have a major say in the outcome of the match - whilst new signing Ben Davies had to settle for a place amongst the substitutes alongside strikers Harry Kane and Roberto Soldado as Emmanuel Adebayor led the line.
Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris (GK); Naughton, Dier, Kaboul (C), Rose; Capoue, Bentaleb; Lennon, Eriksen, Lamela; Adebayor.
Substitutes: Friedel (GK), Dawson, Davies, Holtby, Townsend, Kane, Soldado.
One of the most dubious refereeing decisions of the season was made just half an hour into the opening game, as Kyle Naughton was deemed to have deliberately handled the ball as he flung himself at a Kevin Nolan shot, resulting in a straight red card being shown.
Mark Noble stepped up to take the resulting spot kick, but the Englishman, who is normally so reliable from twelve yards out, placed his penalty wide of the post, sparking delirium from the travelling Spurs fans behind the goal.
After the interval, the contest started to swing in The Lilywhites' favour and after 63 minutes, West Ham defender James Collins was dismissed for a second bookable offence following his clumsy challenge on Togolese forward Adebayor. This led to a barrage of Tottenham attacks, as they peppered The Hammers' net in search of a breakthrough.
Andros Townsend, who had replaced Erik Lamela, came close on two occasions, with one effort forcing a top save from Adrian and the other deflecting just inches away from nestling into the bottom corner. Younes Kaboul survived a scary let-off after he was caught dilly-dallying on the ball, with Noble's shot being held by Hugo Lloris.
As the clock ticked ever closer to the final few seconds of added time, it appeared both sides would be beginning their new seasons with a goalless draw, however, there was one final twist. Substitute Kane played an inch-perfect through ball to debutant Dier, who rounded the onrushing Adrian before firing into an empty net.
The late winner sparked immense scenes from the away end and ensured Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs career got underway in superb fashion.
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Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City, 2021/22
With Harry Kane AWOL and a new era beginning under Nuno Espirito Santo, opening day fixtures wouldn't come much tougher than the reigning champions visiting North London. However, Tottenham exerted a performance to be proud of and, for the first time in eighteen months, they sent a sold-out stadium home with beaming smiles on their faces.
This battle epitomised a 'nitty-gritty performance', with Nuno's men leaving Pep Guardiola stunned as his Tottenham Hotspur Stadium curse continued. Eighteen shots and 65% possession wasn't enough for The Cityzens, who fell to an opening day defeat in their defence of the title.
Portuguese Head Coach Espirito Santo went with a tried and tested eleven to start with, opting to leave summer signings Pierluigi Gollini, Cristian Romero and Bryan Gil on the bench. Dele, who was frozen out towards the end of Jose Mourinho's spell, was recalled and produced a hard-working performance in a new midfield role.
Starting XI (4-3-3): Lloris (GK - C); Tanganga, Sanchez, Dier, Reguilon; Højbjerg, Skipp, Dele; Lucas, Son, Bergwijn.
Substitutes: Gollini (GK), Doherty, Romero, Davies, Winks, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Bryan, Scarlett.
From the get-go, the story of this match was evident - the hosts were going to sit deep and torment The Sky Blues, who would have plenty of chances and have to stave off any lethal counter-attacks launched by Tottenham, who named an electrifying front three of Lucas Moura, Heung-Min Son and Steven Bergwijn.
Japhet Tanganga produced one of the best individual performances of recent times, as he kept £100m debutant Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling quiet throughout his 83 minutes on the pitch. The duo didn't get a sniff, with the defender, now of Millwall, making two clearances and two interceptions, and one interception and one block - earning him the Player of the Match award.
That, alongside Son's curling winner, secured Tottenham an all-important three points on match day one, as fans inside the ground aimed chants at Harry Kane, who was in attendance despite refusing to show up for training for the best part of a week.
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Sheffield Wednesday 3-4 Tottenham, 1994/95
Tottenham began the new season with a brand new world-class star on their books, as they travelled to Hillsborough with Jurgen Klinsmann set to make his debut.
The German star was met with great hostility, having tallied up a poor reputation for diving and feigning injury, and home fans produced Olympic-style scorecards to wave at him throughout his first outing in English football.
Klinsmann led the line alongside Teddy Sheringham, whilst well-known club legends of the present day Garry Mabbut and Micky Hazard settled for a place on the substitutes bench.
Starting XI (5-3-2): Walker (GK); Kerslake, Campbell, Edinburgh, Nethercott, Calderwood; Anderton, Dumitrescu, Barmby; Klinsmann, Sheringham.
Substitutes: Gary Mabbut, Micky Hazard.
The visitors sent their travelling supporters into raptures early on, as they raced into a two-goal lead with goals coming from Sheringham and Darren Anderton inside the opening half an hour. Just after the break, however, a re-energised Wednesday produced a spirited comeback, with The Owls levelling up the tie courtesy of debutant Dan Petrescu and a Colin Calderwood own goal.
Nick Barmby put Tottenham back ahead before the new boy in town finally had his say on the match eight minutes from time. A cross from Anderton was met with an unstoppable header from debutant Klisnmann, who sealed the victory and sparked a talking point for years to come with his celebration.
This pre-planned piece of comedy saw Klinsmann, alongside his strike partner Sheringham, launch themselves face first towards the turf, acting out a dive, which the Germany international had so often been berated for. It also sparked the start of a love affair between player and fans, whilst it enraged the opposition spectators.
Klinsmann's goal ended up being the winner, as Wednesday set up a cagey finale to the game through David Hirst's 83rd-minute goal.
The strike, and celebration which followed, capped off a memorable away victory for Tottenham on the opening day, as they edged a seven-goal thriller.
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Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool, 2009/10
Harry Redknapp's first full season in charge of The Lilywhites began with a thrilling victory at White Hart Lane, as his side shocked the world by beating Liverpool, who had been dubbed as the pre-season title favourites.
Rafa Benitez's final season in charge of The Reds couldn't have got off to a worse start, with his side second-best in every department in the North of the capital on the opening day of the season.
Redknapp handed out starts to two debutants as he named his first team sheet of the 2009/10 campaign, with defender Sebastien Bassong and midfielder Niko Kranjcar - who had joined from Newcastle United and Dinamo Zagreb respectively - given the nod.
Starting XI (4-4-2): Gomes (GK); Corluka, Bassong, King (C), Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Modric; Keane, Defoe.
Substitutes: Cudicini (GK), Hutton, Naughton, Bentley, O'Hara, Pavlyuchenko, Crouch.
Spurs raced out of the traps and dominated the majority of the opening half, with Robbie Keane wasting three glorious chances before his side took the lead. A Tom Huddlestone free-kick slammed against the wall, but the rebound fell to Benoit Assou-Ekotto who let fly from a distance.
His 35-yeard effort cannoned into the top corner leaving Pepe Reina with no chance, as the left-back scored his first-ever goal in Tottenham colours, and what a goal it was! A notable Goal of the Season contender on the stroke of half-time sent Spurs into the break with a one-goal lead.
A horrendous mistake from Heurelho Gomes gifted the visitors a golden opportunity to equaliser four minutes shy of the hour mark. The Brazilian goalkeeper raced off his line and brought down Glen Johnson, with captain Steven Gerrard stepping up from the spot to calmly dispatch down the middle.
Although the North Londoners had been pegged back, it didn't deter them from launching everything at a victory, and It only took them four minutes to regain their lead. From a Modric free-kick, new signing Bassong rose highest to place a header past Reina and seal all three points.
Considering the quite frankly abhorrent run in which they started the previous term, the victory will have tasted even sweeter for Spurs, who picked up maximum points on the opening day.
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Tottenham 3-1 Aston Villa, 2019/20
There was a sense of inspiration and excitement as the opening day of the 2019/20 season came around, mainly due to two factors.
For the first time since their miraculous UEFA Champions League run came to an end with a 2-0 loss in Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur were set to play a competitive match. Mauricio Pochettino had bolstered his squad over the summer, with the arrivals of Tanguy Ndombele, Jack Clarke, Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon. Fans truly believed this could be the beginning of a new, successful era.
Prior to kick-off, the new acquisitions were paraded to fans, with club-record signing Ndombele given a starting role in the heart of midfield by manager Pochettino, and the Frenchmen would go on to have a debut to remember.
Starting XI (4-3-3): Lloris (GK - C); Walker-Peters, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose; Winks, Sissoko, Ndombele; Lamela, Kane, Lucas.
Substitutes: Gazzaniga (GK), Aurier, Dier, Skipp, Wanyama, Nkoudou, Eriksen.
From the second the first whistle was blown by referee Chris Kavanagh, it was as though Tottenham had never left. Missing Son, Dele and three of their four new additions, they fell behind to an early goal from John McGinn on nine minutes, and it looked as though their lacklustre end to the previous league campaign was set to continue.
They failed to find an attacking edge for a large majority of the clash and relied on Harry Kane to bail them out of jail late on. That wasn't before new boy Ndombele produced a moment of magic - his low curling effort clawed The Lilywhites back on level terms with seventeen minutes to go.
In the 86th minute, talisman Kane pounced after Lamela's deflected long-range attempt ricocheted into his path before he sealed the deal just four minutes later with a clinical finish from the edge of the eighteen-yard box.
