I think it does actually.
For instance look at last season. Due to poor preparation we weren't conditioned properly to last 90 minutes against the big boys early on, and from being in a comfortable position against Arsenal we let a 2 goal lead slip. The following week the best team in the league turn up and we're still under cooked and although we put up a fight they steam roll us easily. By that point it's obvious to everyone we've not been properly prepared for the season and we've faced two top teams who didn't need to be in top gear to beat us. If we'd had played say teams like Villa or Sunderland would we have had a better chance of beating them while not being at our best or fittest? I reckon we could have got away with it, or at least not took a confidence sapping 6-3 home defeat. Suddenly after 3 games we've gone from being a team with a solid water tight defence, one of the best in the league, to team leaking goals and looking a mess. You can't say that didn't effect how the season began to unravel.
The key to a good season is starting off well and gaining confidence and momentum quickly, a run of Newly promoted team>Southampton>City>Spurs>Chelsea would never be easy but with it coming at the beginning of the season while your trying to find a rhythm and confidence it's a tougher ask. If things don't go well then and the next batch of games consists of Liverpool>Utd>Arsenal we could be looking at a very large gap between us and the top teams before the clocks have turned back. A good start will be vital to how our season pans out and these fixtures don't make it easy in any way for us.
If you could hand pick a sequence of the first 10 games there's no way anyone on here would choose it like this.
