Aston Villa's surprise 3-1 win at Arsenal means Chelsea would leap-frog the Midlanders and others to go top of the nascent league table with victory tonight. Three extra points would provide a useful buffer ahead of the visit to Old Trafford on Monday. This is the only Barclays Premier League fixture of the midweek as it was originally scheduled for 31 August. The game was brought forward as a result of Chelsea's involvement in the UEFA Super Cup against Bayern Munich on 30 August.

Villa will fancy their chances in London having beaten our north London rivals at home on Saturday. The Villains have won four and drawn one of their last six away Premier League games. Their sole defeat came at Old Trafford, though last season's 8-0 drubbing at the Bridge must still occupy a scary corner of their minds.

The returning Jose made it 11 wins out of the last 12 opening day games on Sunday. Chelsea and Manchester United are now clear leaders in first day victories since the Premier League began in 1992/93; both have won 14 of the first matches of the season from the 22 played. Chelsea have accrued a total of 47 points from those matches and United 46.

'Enjoy Frank,' Jose Mourinho told everyone through yesterday's media conference. The manager himself certainly is. Had Frank Lampard converted his penalty, it would have been his and Chelsea's first opening day success from the spot since 2012, and his third while at the Bridge.

However, the stunning free-kick that followed means the phenomenal midfielder made a goalscoring start to the season for the sixth time: 2002/03, 2006/07, 2008/09 (penalty), 2010/11, 2012/13 (penalty) and 2013/14.

Hawk-Eye's new Goal Decision System (GDS) technology was put through its paces on Sunday when Hull keeper Allan McGregor clawed away a powerful Branislav Ivanovic header at the second attempt. GDS's interpretation of the incident was shown on the big screens inside Stamford Bridge and to TV viewers, indicating the ball did not cross the line.

The Premier League reported that eight out of 10 away clubs took up their maximum ticket allocation for the first matches of 2013/14 but Hull City (and Villa tonight) was not one of them.

Chelsea's initiative to help traveling supporters this season is to subsidise £10 train and coach travel to a minimum of 10 away matches this season, starting with the first two at Old Trafford and Goodison Park.