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The 2018-19 season is the 27th season of the English Premier League (EPL) since its formation in 1992. The competition in its current format took its final shape on 20 Feb 1992 as the clubs decided to part ways with the Football League First Division of the English Football League (EFL), which was formed in 1888 and was the oldest such competition in world football.
The EFL now consists of three leagues which are below Premier League's level -Championship, League One and League Two. While these leagues feature 24 clubs each (72 in total), the Premier League features the 20 best clubs each year.
The EPL and the EFL work hand in hand as three bottom placed t Premier League teams get relegated and three teams from Championship make their way into the Premier League.
The original reasons behind the division of the English football league system were mainly economic in nature. Premier League was formed to take advantage of the lucrative television deals. The decision that was taken by the English clubs has more than paid off as EPL is now the most watched sports league in the world.
The inaugural members of the Premier League were: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Utd, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.
Since its inception, a total of 49 clubs made it to the Premier League with Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur being the only six clubs to participate in all the seasons.
Of the 49 clubs, only six were able to lay hands on the silverware. Manchester United were the first club to win the competition and they have done it 12 more times. Blackburn Rovers were the first club other than Manchester United to lift the trophy. Rovers were champions of the third season i.e. 1994/95.
Arsenal became the first London based club to win the league in 1996/97 and they have followed it up with two more trophies in 2001/02 and 2003/04. "The Invincibles' Arsenal remained unbeaten throughout the 2003/04 season and are the only club to achieve this feat till now.
In the 2004/05 season, Chelsea became the fourth team to win the Premier League. After winning their inaugural trophy, Chelsea have managed to become Champions on four more occasions - 2005/06, 2009/10, 2014/15 and 2016/17.
Manchester City, the fifth team to win EPL, lifted the trophy for the first time in 2011/12. They added two more trophies to their kitty by winning the 2013/14 and 2017/18 seasons. In the 2017/18, Manchester City finished with 100 points which are the most points by any team in a Premier League season.
The latest entrant to the coveted list are the Foxes who made it to the top in 2015/16. Leicester's story to the title was nothing short of a fairy tale as they were crowned Champions a year after their successful battle against relegation.
Most Premier League titles:
Manchester United - 13
Chelsea - 5
Arsenal - 3
Manchester City- 3
Blackburn Rovers -1
Leicester City - 1
Top 3 teams in each season since 1992-93
