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2019-20 Premier League: The expectations, the VAR introduction

 

The 2019–20 Premier League will be the 28th season of the Premier League, the top English professional football league, since its establishment in 1992.
Manchester City are the defending champions for the second successive year, after picking up the domestic treble the previous season.
It will be the first Premier League season to have a mid-season break in February where five of a normal round of ten games will be played on a weekend and the remaining five the following weekend.
It will also be the first season to use VAR. Changes to the rules affecting back passes, penalties, handballs and substitutions were introduced in 2019–20.
The Premier League season marks the start of a new three-year TV deal. Eight matches will be shown on television at 19:45 on Saturday nights, broadcast by Sky Sports.
Amazon Prime will broadcast two full rounds of fixtures in December which will mark the first time an entire round of live matches have been broadcast domestically.
Twenty teams will compete in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the championship.
The promoted teams are Norwich City, Sheffield United, and Aston Villa. Norwich City and Aston Villa return to the top flight after absences of three years, while Sheffield United return after a twelve-year absence.
They replace Cardiff City, Fulham (both teams relegated after one season back in the top flight) and Huddersfield Town (relegated after two years in the top flight).
Cardiff City’s relegation means that this season will be the first without a side from Wales since the 2010–11 season.
Club record signings, a number of managerial changes and the introduction of video assistant referees (VAR) – the new Premier League season is almost upon us.
Will Manchester City become the first team since Manchester United in 2009 to win the title three years in a row?
Will European champions Liverpool be crowned champions of England for the first time since 1990 after going so close last season?
Chelsea have a new manager – as well as a transfer ban – while newly promoted Norwich City, Sheffield United and Aston Villa are looking to establish themselves
The Contendants
Newcastle United, Everton, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers are poised to break the monopoly that the top clubs hold over the other 14 sides in the English top flight.
Whether it be through savvy coaching, heavy investment or a blend of both, this confident quartet have readied themselves to challenge the authority of their rulers.
Manchester United should be worried, as should Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. If they’re not adequately prepared – both physically and mentally – then even runaway pair? Liverpool and? Manchester City have something to consider.
Here’s each contender’s chances of infiltrating that elite group of teams and pushing for Champions League football.
Tammy Abraham – Chelsea
After enjoying a prolific spell in front of goal last season, as Aston Villa earned promotion back to the Premier League following a three season absence, England nder-21 forward Tammy Abraham will be looking to impress for his parent club Chelsea next term.
Abraham finished the campaign as the Championship’s second top goal scorer after finding the net an impressive 26 times, demonstrating his quality in a hugely competitive league. Abraham has it all; he’s good with the ball at his feet and in the air, strong, quick, agile and has a great understanding of the game.
A natural goal scorer, the 21-year-old looks to have a promising future ahead of him, he just needs a chance to show what he can in the top-flight.
Teemy Pukki – Norwich City
Last season’s top goalscorer in the Championship, Teemu Pukki, is vital for Norwich and their progression in the Premier League next term. The Finland international netted 29 league goals last time out and was the main reason the Canaries won the league ahead of the likes of Aston Villa, Sheffield United and Leeds.
Daniel James – Man Utd
Manchester United have been forced into trying something different following a disappointing season which saw the club finish 6th and miss out on Champions League football last term.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is evidently fed up of his beloved club shelling out ridiculous transfer fees for money-hungry mercenaries who don’t really care about who they play for, not mentioning any names cough Alexis Sanchez.
Che Adams – Southampton
Southampton have finally got a deal across the line for striker Che Adams. The 22-year-old joins from Championship side Birmingham City, having previously turned out for Sheffield United in the second-tier. He’ll bring an injection of pace and excitement to an injury-prone frontline on the south coast; Danny Ings is a terrific player on his day and will always get you 10+ goals in a season, but simply cannot remain fit for the duration of a whole campaign, which isn’t ideal.
Jack Grealish – Aston Villa
Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish is the player we’re most looking forward to seeing in next season’s Premier League. The creative midfielder featured a little for his boyhood club the last time they found themselves in the top-flight four years ago, but has come on leaps and bounds since then. Grealish is a much more mature player now, who has also developed physically so it’ll be extremely interesting to see how he fares against some of the world’s greatest players next term.
The contenders
Manchester City
Despite their inspirational captain Vincent Kompany moving on to Anderlecht, Manchester City will once again be very hard to displace at the top of the table. The Sky Blues have brought in Rodri from Atletico Madrid, who has been called the most important signing for any of the elite clubs this summer. Pep Guardiola will once again expect perfection but we think the club will be placing their focus on Europe this season, where they’ll be aiming to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time in the history of the club.
Liverpool could not have done much more last season and if they play the same way this campaign, they’ll be walking away with their first title since 1989-90.
The defending European Champions have made just the one addition to their squad, with 17-year-old Sepp van den Berg joining a very strong squad.
With Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi up front and PFA Players’ Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk in defence, we’re taking them to lift the League trophy.
After a fourth-placed finish last campaign and a runners-up medal in the Champions League, Tottenham will be looking to challenge for the Premier League title this season. The Spurs have signed Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon and he has been likened to Mousa Dembele.
Mauricio Pochettino has a nice array of attacking options to choose from, with the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli all deadly in front of goal.
The pretenders
Arsenal enter their second season under Unai Emery and Gunners fans will be keen to put last season behind them after four losses from their last seven games saw them miss out on Champions League action by just one point.
William Saliba has joined the club from Saint-Ettiene, along with Dani Ceballos who is on loan from Real Madrid and young Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli.
Chelsea
This season is set to be an interesting one for Chelsea, having lost Eden Hazard and with first-year coach Frank Lampard at the helm. Lampard is a former hero on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, having played 429 games for the Blues between 2001 and 2014 but the pressure will come if he doesn’t produce the results.
The Relegation Battle
Norwich, Sheffield United and Aston Villa have all stepped up from the Championship, which automatically puts them into this conversation.
But, with Villa spending big and having arguably the most gifted player of all the promoted sides, Jack Grealish, we’re expecting them to survive the drop.
Out of these three teams, the one that will struggle the most is Norwich, who haven’t been able to add much to their squad.

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