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The Premier League season begins this weekend. "Football is nothing without fans," the legendary Sir Matt Busby once said. Last season showed why the Manchester United legend could not be more right.
Every club missed their fans and played with 11 players, missing the twelfth man all season. After 16 months, Premier League stadiums will finally welcome fans back to the game.
The return of fans will make the players feel energized on the field. Viewers watching in their gadgets will now hear real human emotion rather than recorded noises. While every club will enjoy having their fans back in the stadium, let's look at the clubs that missed the fans the most and will benefit from them returning to stadiums.
#5 Leeds United
The last time Elland Road hosted a Premier League match with fans was way back in 2004. Leeds supporters did not enjoy the day as they saw their team relegated to the Championship.
Leeds were promoted to the Premier League last season but could not allow fans into the stadium because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bielsa's men were everyone's second favorite team last season because of the way they played.
The energy that the players give on the field has surprised everyone who has watched them as Leeds were undefeated against the traditional Big 6 teams at Ellan Road last season. Bielsa's men were fearless throughout the season and one can only imagine what they might have done with their fans cheering them on.
Leeds fans have waited a long time to see their team in the Premier League. The longer the wait, the sweeter the return will be. Bielsa's Peacocks will be eager to perform in front of their fans this season and show that they belong in the top-tier of English football.
#4 Leicester City
Leicester City were surprise Premier League champions in 2016 and the manner in which the club has built on that success is simply miraculous. Leicester city is one of the few teams in the league where the owners, players and fans are connected like a family. The players dearly missed the fans last season and their poor home form is a reflection of this.
Leicester lost nine home matches last season and conceded 30 goals. Since returning to the Premier League in 2014, they have not lost more games at home in a single season.
They also lost out on a Champions League spot on the final day of last season. The FA Cup and Community Shield victories showed how Leicester could be better with fans cheering them on as their supporters were present for both games. The Foxes will be hoping for a better finish this season to give their fans Champions League football next season.
#3 Arsenal
Arsenal may not be a club that has challenged for the Premier League in recent years. Big clubs don't see them rivaling top honors but are aware that Arsenal at the Emirates is a different game.
With sixty thousand Gunners cheering them on, any team will find it hard to handle the pressure. Arsenal missed their fans badly last season when they recorded their worst home record in the Premier League.
The Gunners lost seven league games at the Emirates last season - the exact number of matches they lost in the previous three seasons combined. They also secured just 1.47 points per game at home last season. Arsenal's average points per game ten seasons before this is 2.17, which is 0.7 more than last season's.
The Gunners and their fans will be hoping to boost the morale of Mikel Arteta, whose work they have admired from the outside for the past 16 months.
#2 Manchester United
Old Trafford went electric when Scott McTominay scored a long-ranger past Ederson in the Manchester Derby during the 2019-20 season. Manchester United went on to complete a double over their neighbors for the first time in a decade. Everything changed after that, and not for the better.
United's home form was disastrous last season. Losing six games in a season at Old Trafford is something that fans have not experienced for a long time. United had numerous goal-less draws to add to their vows. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted multiple times that having fans will make his team perform better in the upcoming season.
The team, though, has progressed in the last campaign. Manchester United were the second-best team in both the Premier League and the Europa League. Solskjaer will hope that the return of fans will help take the club to the heights they once reached under Sir Alex Ferguson with their fans backing them.
#1 Liverpool
Liverpool were undefeated at Anfield for 68 games in the Premier League. After a facing defeat in April 2017, Klopp's men went three seasons undefeated at home, winning the Premier League title in the process. However, all good things must come to an end.
But the end of this streak was the beginning of something worse. Liverpool have lost six matches consecutively at Anfield last season after their unbeaten run was broken.
Anfield has been a fortress that has been very difficult to breach for any team in Europe, let alone in England. Chants of "You will never walk alone" help even the worst Liverpool sides rise to the occasion. Without fans, everyone realized Anfield was nothing. Klopp himself has acknowledged the energy that fans provide to his players and the lack of it last season.
