
Chelsea fielded the joint-tallest team of the opening Premier League weekend as their powerhouses, with an average height of 6ft 1in, proved to much for Burnley on Monday evening.

Returning goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was their biggest player, measuring in at 6ft 6in, but the Blues could also boast the likes of Nemanja Matic (6ft 4in), Gary Cahill (6ft 3in) and John Terry (6ft 1 1.5in) in their starting line-up.

Despite using the diminutive talents of players like Cesc Fabregas (5ft 10in) and Eden Hazard (5ft 8in), size obviously still matters to Jose Mourinho and his new-look side still bears a resemblance to his original Blues team that featured the likes of Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack (both 6ft 2in) and deposed goalkeeper Petr Cech (6ft 5in).

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Long and short of it: Chelsea fielded the tallest team on the opening weekend with Arsenal the shortest, while QPR had the heaviest side

Size matters: Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was the tallest player in the opening round of Premier League fixtures, at 6ft 6in

Pocket rocket: Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla (5ft 6in) was the smallest player on show on the opening weekend

While Chelsea shared the title of tallest team with Crystal Palace, QPR, Stoke and West Ham - they were the only side from the collective to claim three points after their first game.

Manchester City are also regarded as an imposing side, although in a table of the tallest teams the Premier League champions rank joint sixth with an average height of 6ft. Selling Costel Pantilimon, still the Premier League's tallest player at 6ft 8in, obviously lowered their average.

Of the remaining so-called big teams, Manchester United and Liverpool are surprisingly lower down the table with average heights of 5ft 11in and 5ft 10in respectively.

United's taller players like David de Gea and Chris Smalling (both 6ft 4in) are offset by small fry like Juan Mata (5ft 7in) and Javier Hernandez (5ft 9in), while Raheem Sterling (5ft 7in) and Philippe Coutinho (5ft 8in) bring Liverpool's average height down.

However, it's no surprise that Arsene Wenger's collection of pint-sized playmakers made Arsenal the smallest side on the opening weekend with Santi Cazorla the shortest player on show at 5ft 6in - while the likes of Jack Wilshere and Alexis Sanchez (both 5ft 7in) were not far ahead.

It is perhaps no surprise to see a side managed by Sam Allardyce hitting the heights, with West Ham coming in at an average of 6ft 1in, and while Mark Hughes attempts to change Stoke's style there is still a legacy of Tony Pulis's reign with them also having an average height of 6ft 1in (and having .

And Pulis also left his mark on Crystal Palace, with them having the same average height as Stoke. QPR also measure up at 6ft in and were the heaviest team to play on the opening weekend, weighing in at 12st 7lb.

Burnley are tipped to struggle by many pundits this season and they were the top-flight lightweights on Monday, tipping the scales at an average of 11st. It comes as no shock that Arsenal also came in as the daintiest side.

Big 'un: Vincent Kompany (6ft 4in) has been left as one of City's tallest players after Costel Pantilimon's departure

Pint-sized: Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez keep Manchester United's average height down

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Land of the giants: Average heights of Premier League Starting XIs on the opening day