Which Premier League team is the best after an international break?

After the extended September/October international break, the Premier League returns to the stadiums and screens of the nation this weekend, to the excitement of supporters worldwide.

Thomas Tuchel's England side may have romped to victory Rijeka and waltzed their way to success at Wembley, however, nothing beats watching your club team in the top flight.

England's greatest division returns with a bang, with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur clashing in an early relegation six-pointer, whilst Liverpool host crisis-hit Manchester City at Anfield.

Here, Sports Mole breaks down the record of Premier League clubs after an international break since 2000, providing an insight into what could be on the horizon in the coming days.

Arsenal lead Man City, Liverpool in post-international break table

Premier League record after international breaks

Results in matches played immediately after the break

Premier League clubs ranked by record in matches after international breaks
#	Team	P	W	D	L	Win%
1	Arsenal	81	43	20	18	53.1%
2	Manchester City	79	41	20	18	51.9%
3	Liverpool	80	40	22	18	50.0%
4	Chelsea	80	40	19	21	50.0%
5	Manchester United	81	39	22	20	48.1%
6	Tottenham Hotspur	80	36	20	24	45.0%
7	Aston Villa	80	32	23	25	40.0%
8	Newcastle United	79	30	22	27	38.0%
9	Fulham	74	28	20	26	37.8%
10	Everton	81	29	25	27	35.8%
11	Bournemouth	51	20	13	18	39.2%
12	Leeds United	54	20	14	20	37.0%
13	Brentford	41	15	12	14	36.6%
14	Nottingham Forest	63	20	18	25	31.7%
15	Crystal Palace	78	22	25	31	28.2%
16	Brighton	70	18	23	29	25.7%
17	Sunderland	64	17	18	29	26.6%
18	Hull City	40	12	11	17	30.0%
19	Ipswich Town	35	10	10	15	28.6%
20	Coventry City	48	11	15	22	22.9%

P = matches played, W = wins, D = draws, L = losses.

Rather surprisingly, current Premier League champions Arsenal are the leaders of the post-international break table, with the North Londoners winning 43 of their 81 matches, boasting a win percentage of 53.1%.

Given their dominance of the English top flight over the past decade, Manchester City are close runners-up in terms of success following an international break, winning 41 games and possessing a win percentage of 51.9%.

It is the so-called Big Six that make up the rest of the first six spots in these rankings, with Liverpool (50%), Chelsea (50%), Manchester United (48.1%) and Tottenham Hotspur (45%) enjoying positive starts after the international pause.

Outside of the biggest clubs in England, recent Champions League competitors Aston Villa and Newcastle United pick up sixth and seven place with win percentages of 40% and 38% respectively.

Focusing on the other end of the table, there were no prizes for guessing that Hull City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City would sit at the bottom of the list, with the Sky Blues winning just 22.9% of their contests following an international break.

How we worked out the post-international break table

The ranking takes into consideration all Premier League and Championship results immediately after an international break since 2000, meaning that certain sides have less chance to impress our model.

For example, Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford have all spent significant chunks of the 21st century outside of England's top two divisions, reducing their sample size in the table.

Of course, this has not impacted the results of the bigger clubs in England, with Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur all competing in either the Premier League or Championship since 2000.