The 25th season of the Premier League kicks off on 13 August and it is already one of the most eagerly anticipated ones yet. Now the home of several world class managers and players, the most popular league in the world now aspires to reach heights that were previously unimaginable.
With nine months of non-stop football action, 380 games evenly spaced out in an all-new calendar with more matchdays every other weekend and enough attractions to keep viewers glued to their television sets, we can barely wait. With that in mind, we look at the A-Z of the new EPL season.
A – Antonio Conte
Italian players called him the Godfather. When he talks, everyone listens. He has already promised to play good, attractive football and also said that the team that runs the most will win the title. A change in philosophy at Chelsea (read as 3-5-2), perhaps?
B – Barclays dropped as title sponsor
This will be the first time the Premier League will not have a title sponsor since 1993 (a year after the Premier League was formed). While the EPL has enjoyed the sponsorship of Carling before and Barclays in the last 12 years, the league itself has become such a popular brand that it does not require a sponsor tied to it anymore.
C – Champions League spots
With so many world class players and managers arriving in the Premier League, the competition will increase significantly. All 20 clubs have similar resources to spend in the transfer market and the “traditional top four” is no longer a thing. Leicester City upset the established order last season. How many teams will fight it out for top four spots this time? Conte feels it could be seven teams!
D – Diego Costa
After a strong first season in the EPL, last seasons saw Diego Costa’s stock fall, leading to Chelsea’s struggles. His lack of effort was seen as a strategy to get Jose Mourinho ousted and the Brazilian-born Spanish striker was roundly booed by the Stamford Bridge faithful. Left out of the Spain squad for Euro 2016, Costa has a point to prove and the arrival of Michy Batshuayi will also keep him on his toes – if he stays in the EPL.
E – Everton looking to rebuild lost reputation
A decade ago, Everton were in the Champions League qualifiers under David Moyes. Now the Merseyside club has dropped from the top half of the table (finishing as high as in fifth place) to 11th in two consecutive seasons. The aura of Roberto Martinez was shattered and the club acted quickly to bring in Ronald Koeman from Southampton. The Dutchman oversaw the rise of the Saints when all hope seemed lost after they lost key players. Can he do the same with the Toffees?
F – Friday night football
EPL football has always been a weekend affair with the odd game on Monday night but that is set to change. Seeing the rise of its own popularity, the Premier League has ensured that more games will be telecast and watched as they move 10 games to Friday night. However, if you’re an Asian fan watching football, good luck staying awake for many nights in a row (especially in a Champions League week).
G – Gaston Ramirez
The Uruguayan playmaker’s heroics helped Middlesbrough achieve promotion but the club were initially not interested in signing him on a permanent basis because of the pre-contract agreement with Uruguayan club Penerol. The 25-year-old was a free agent after he was released by Southampton and fans asked the club to retain him and use him in the EPL. But a work-permit poses a problem as he hasn’t played enough games for the national team.
H – Hull City return
Perennial relegation candidates in the Premier League and promotion candidates in the Championship, Hull City are back in the Premier League for the third time in a decade. Steve Bruce is still in charge of the club and ensured the Tigers made it back via the Playoffs. Can he improve on his FA Cup runners-up finish in 2014 and stay in the Premier League this season?
I – International audience
The Premier League will be broadcast in 225 territories around the world. An estimated 1.1 billion European viewers tune in to watch the EPL while the worldwide reach is estimated to be around 3 billion homes!
J – Jose Mourinho
The self-proclaimed Special One is back but he has traded the Blues for the Red Devils this term. Old Trafford has yearned for a powerful personality since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and they have signed a proven and pragmatic winner. Success usually follows Mourinho wherever he goes but so does disaster. What’s in store for the Portuguese boss and will he now become the ‘Selling Juan’?
K – Klopp’s mission
This will be Jurgen Klopp’s first full season in charge of Liverpool and he can start the season on his own terms. He has already made moves in the transfer market to get players such as Sadio Mane while troublemakers such as Mario Balotelli could be offloaded. After Liverpool expanded Anfield’s Main Stand to add 8,500 seats, the club’s board has shown its support to the long-term cause of rebuilding after numerous failures in the past decade and also extended Klopp’s contract. Good signs.
L – Leicester City’s targets
One would expect the Premier League champions to have lofty ambitions to defend their title but Claudio Ranieri is taking it one step at a time. Most players and managers would come out and say they would do their best to win it again but the Italian manager has set milestones – “40 points, then top half, then get through the Champions League, then if possible to lift another cup.”
M – Manchester Derby
El Clasicos brought out the worst in Real Madrid and Barcelona when Mourinho went head-to-head with Pep Guardiola. That rivalry is set to be reignited in the Premier League with Pep Guardiola taking the reins at the Etihad. Will we see some glorious matches or will the poisonous atmosphere that gripped Spain move to the north-west of England?
N – Newcastle fire sale?
With Newcastle relegated, many of their players will be up for grabs following their splurge last season to build a squad that could avoid relegation. Rafa Benitez, who wants to rebuild the team and set his project on track, is not interested in selling the likes of Moussa Sissoko and Georginio Wijnaldum. But how long can he hold on to them, especially after Andros Townsend made the switch to Crystal Palace?
O – Olympic Stadium
West Ham finished seventh last season after Slaven Bilic took over – their best finish since 1999. And after winning the bid to use the Olympic Stadium as their home ground, the historic Boleyn Ground will no longer be an EPL venue. With a capacity of 60,000, the Hammers now have the third biggest stadium in the league.
P – Pep Guardiola
Looking to move away to find a new challenge, Pep Guardiola announced his decision to join Manchester City as early as February this year. City’s season soon became a countdown to the end of Manuel Pellegrini’s era and despite reaching the Champions League semi-final for the first time, fans were not impressed. Guardiola’s arrival heralds a new era for the club and he is looked at as the messiah to change the club’s ethos from top to bottom.
Q – Queues for away tickets
With the meteoric rise in the popularity of the Premier League, so did the ticket prices and it was the fans who felt the brunt of it. Protests in the form of marches, banners, and even walkouts made the clubs sit up and take notice. As a result, the first step sees ticket prices frozen by most clubs while away fans will pay no more than £30.
R – Riyad Mahrez to stay
Ranieri is pretty confident Mahrez will stay with the Foxes this season despite perennial interest in the PFA Player of the Year from various clubs in the EPL and Europe. The Algerian winger scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists in the league last season and one can only hope he doesn’t suffer the same fate as Eden Hazard after winning the award. Ranieri and Leicester fans will hope Mahrez can reproduce those magical performances on European nights as well.
S – Sam Allardyce to stay or move on?
Sunderland’s philosophy of hiring managers to survive relegation and then fire them may come to an end after they hired Big Sam. Allardyce is not a manager to be trifled with and his approach ensures “weaker” clubs get results and survive in the top flight. But with the England job calling, the Black Cats may be sweating for the first time with the Three Lions circling.
T – Television deal
£5.136bn. That’s the value of the television deal that the Premier League signed – a massive 71% increase over their existing deal. Set to run for three years starting from this season, it sees the average cost of each game for broadcasters rise to £10.19m. Some of the money will go to developing grassroots football while the 20 clubs will also get an equal share ensuring a fair market when it comes to player transfers.
U – Underdogs? What’s that?
Each club in the EPL received an equal share of approximately £55.8m last season from domestic TV rights, overseas TV rights and commercial income from sponsors. That is enough to sign three quality players to add to their squad (one-and-a-half if they are English). With total payments ranging from between £66m to £101m, there’s no question that all clubs have enough ammo to spend in the transfer market and build competitive sides.
V – Vardy’s party to continue?
Jamie Vardy set the EPL alight last season with his tireless running and clinical finishing leading Leicester City to an unlikely title. The 29-year-old went to the Euros as a second-choice striker when he should have started games instead. The Golden Boot race may have been won by Harry Kane last season but remove the suspension Vardy received and he may have clinched it at the line. Can he do it this season?
W – Wenger’s last chance to win a title
Last season, The Arsenal boss didn’t sign a single outfield player and still beat every other major rival – only to finish second. The one thing he did not count on was Leicester City beating 5000/1 odds to finish as champions. Will he invest wisely in the transfer market this time to strengthen the Gunners with all his rivals rebuilding with some big names? It’s the final year of his contract and many believe it could be his last season with the Gunners.
X – Xhaka
Come on, what else was I expected to include for ‘X’ here? Here are 5 things you should know about Granit Xhaka.
Y – Yaya Toure Sanogo
Yaya Toure’s future at City is uncertain under Guardiola even if he has said in the press that he would work with him. Inter Milan has been linked for months and there could still be a chance of the Ivorian midfielder moving. But his days are numbered, which means Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo automatically becomes the most lethal player in the Premier League this season.
Z – Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Saving the second best (after Sanogo, of course) for last. Some say he is over the hill but if one scores more goals in the league than their current age, then there is definitely something about him that cannot be simply ignored. 34-year-old Ibrahimovic just had the most prolific season of his career, scoring 50 goals in all competitions in 51 games for PSG (38 goals in Ligue 1). After finding success in Italy, Spain and France, he is now set to test Premier League defences and make headlines every week he can.
