[5] Manchester City were the defending champions, having won their first Premier League title the previous season.
Manchester United secured their 13th Premier League title with four games to spare with a 3–0 win over Aston Villa on 22 April 2013.
City eventually came back and Samir Nasri scored the winning goal with ten minutes left.
[10] In a Monday evening fixture at Goodison Park, Manchester United started their season with a 1–0 loss to Everton, the goal scored by Marouane Fellaini.
[11] The first goal of the season, however, was scored by Swansea City's Michu,[12] whose team thrashed Queens Park Rangers 5–0 away from home.
[14] Other second week highlights included Chelsea's 2–0 win over Newcastle United, with recent Belgian signing Eden Hazard involved in both goals.
[15][16] Early leaders Chelsea had week three off, while a win by Manchester City over Queens Park Rangers left the defending champions two points off the pace.
[18] The fourth week of the season began with controversy, as the Chelsea v Queens Park Rangers match was fraught with racial tensions when QPR's Anton Ferdinand refused to shake hands with Chelsea's John Terry, who had been suspended for four games for using racial epithets against Ferdinand during the previous season.
[21] Everton and West Bromwich Albion maintained control of second place, with both teams notching a win in week five, though a draw by the Baggies in week six would drop them back to fifth place, which they would share with Tottenham Hotspur following their surprise 3–2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Van Persie had also taken the shot that had rebounded off of Luiz, and thus was ultimately responsible for the Red Devil's one-goal lead at half-time, following a late first half goal by Chelsea's Juan Mata from a free kick.
Another key match in October included a fixture between Liverpool and Reading, with Liverpool winning 1–0 (with winger Raheem Sterling scoring his first goal for the club) and giving manager Brendan Rodgers his first win at Anfield in the league against Reading, a team he formerly managed.
[24] The final week of October featured the longest match in the 20-year history of the Premier League, a 103-minute game between Manchester City and Swansea that featured two serious injuries, one to the groin of Swansea keeper Michel Vorm and the other to the knee of Manchester City back Micah Richards, both of which required stretchers to carry them off.
Tottenham Hotspur occupied fourth place with Arsenal, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion all tied for fifth.
Chelsea stopped their November slide with a 3–1 win at Sunderland on 8 December on the strength of two goals by Fernando Torres.
The promoted teams were Reading, Southampton and West Ham United, returning to the top flight after absences of four, seven and one year respectively.