As Premier League returns with unfinished business, new realities await English football

Premier League football returns on Wednesday after a three-month coronavirus-enforced absence, to well and truly rubberstamp football’s comeback from the pandemic.

The world’s most popular league will be the third major football competition to resume after Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga.

However, the eventual champion of the Premier League is all but clear with Liverpool enjoying a 25-point advantage over Manchester City, there’s drama all across the table which is what perhaps makes it one of the most-watched leagues in world football.

Relegation scrap is still to be played out and the matter of the European places for next season remains unresolved with a host of teams in the mix to make either the Champions League or the Europa League.

As the Premier League resumes here’s how the table stands.

New realities

The big and most significant change when the Premier League returns would be the absence of spectators. The atmosphere in the Premier League stadiums make the competition stand out with the fans usually seated very close to the field of play. The lack of these supporters could take the sheen of the English top tier.

“What makes it special in England is the way people react to the game,” former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told The Athletic.

“It is the best country in the world for the way the fans respond to what’s happening on the pitch. That’s why I think it will be the most handicapped championship without spectators,” he added.

The number of substitutes allowed on the bench have also been increased from five to seven as Premier League will now allow managers to make five substitutions in a game in order to prevent players from getting injured due to lack of training during lockdown. However, to keep the number of stoppages to the minimum, managers will only have three opportunities to make those substitutions.

Read: Risky business: Why injuries could mar Premier League’s return after coronavirus-forced break

Managers like Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola who like their players to play with a lot of intensity may use the increased number of substitutions to manage their players’ minutes.

With the pandemic changing the way people lived their lives, the restart of the Premier League season may be an early glimpse of what football may look like in the subsequent future with some of these changes likely to stay for the long haul.

Players jumping over one another to celebrate a goal or a star throwing his jersey into the crowd. It may be a thing of the past.

Liverpool eye City’s records

Liverpool were 25 points clear of Manchester City and within touching distance of becoming English champions for the first time since 1990 when the league was suspended in March. But while Covid-19 may have delayed their title party, nobody seriously believes it is not going to happen.

Two more wins would make it mathematically impossible for City to catch Liverpool, but the Reds could triumph by winning their first game, at Merseyside neighbours Everton on Sunday, if City lose at home to Arsenal on Wednesday.

With the title all but won, Jurgen Klopp’s men can also break two of City’s most cherished records – they need 19 points from the remaining 27 to beat the Manchester club’s total of 100 points from the 2017/18 season and they could also better City’s record title-winning margin of 19 points from the same campaign.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson lifted the Champions League trophy in a packed stadium in Madrid last June but is preparing for a different experience with the Premier League silverware being presented behind closed doors this year.

“Of course it would feel different because if you win any trophy and receive it without any fans there, it would be pretty strange,” he told the BBC.

Seven-way European tussle

Intriguingly, the battle for top-four spots could be extended to include fifth place.

Liverpool are assured of their place in the Champions League and the other qualifying berths are currently occupied by Manchester City, Leicester and Chelsea.

But as things stand, City cannot compete in Europe’s top club competition for the next two seasons after being banned for financial fair play breaches.

Pep Guardiola’s side have appealed, however, and could still hold onto their Champions League place next season if the suspension is overturned.

If it is upheld, whoever finishes fifth will take their place in next season’s Champions League.

Read: Decision on Man City’s appeal against European football ban expected in first half of July, says CAS

Manchester United currently occupy that position, but Wolves and Sheffield United are both just two points behind Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team.

Eighth-placed Tottenham and Arsenal, one spot lower, will also fancy their chances of finishing fifth with a late charge.

Chelsea and Leicester City are in the driving seat at the moment, but the break has ensured that there’s no bearing of past form on the race. The marathon will now be decided by a short sprint with the team that does well in this mini-league grabbing the European spots with only eight points separating the team in fourth from ninth-placed Arsenal.

It will be interesting to see how the lack of spectators may impact the race for the European spots. Out of the seven teams chasing the Champions League, only Chelsea and Wolves have had better results away from home.

Manchester United and Tottenham, who face off in the first week after restart, are the teams that perform significantly better at home than on their travels.

The relegation scrap

Norwich, Aston Villa and Bournemouth occupy the bottom three places in the Premier League but all will harbour hopes they can escape the drop.

Norwich are rock-bottom and six points from safety but a win at home to Leicester in late February gave them hope.

Villa had lost four straight games before the shutdown so the break could end up helping Dean Smith’s team, who have a game in hand over their rivals, while Eddie Howe will be desperate for Bournemouth to find some form after a run of seven defeats in 10 games.

Above the current bottom three, Watford are still in trouble despite their impressive initial revival under Nigel Pearson, while West Ham and Brighton are far from safe.

The absence of spectators could hurt the teams at the bottom half of the table the most as they often rely on the crowd support to bridge the gap on the field against the superior sides.

“In Germany, for example, you can see that in home games against bigger opponents, there is an element missing — that tension, that belief, that motivation that is coming from outside the pitch,” Wenger told The Athletic.

“You see that the internal motivation of the club is not big enough against the big clubs. The bigger teams have more quality, so a way to reduce the difference between the teams is, of course, to have the support of your fans and get that intensity into the game. Let’s not forget it influences the referee and the opposition team as well,” he added.

All the teams batting relegation have enjoyed significantly better form at home than on their trips with almost all clubs grabbing double of the points scored at home than on the road.

What could also have a big impact on these teams in the lack of depth in their squads. With five substitutions allowed, the teams at the higher end of the table with greater resources available to them are likely to be at an advantage. Thus with a few factors playing against them, it might be harder for teams at the bottom to pick up the points they need to secure safety.

Fit to play

A clutch of top players will be raring to go after lengthy spells on the sidelines.

England striker Harry Kane is hungry for a return and Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min will also be able to feature after recovering from a broken arm.

Manchester United pair Paul Pogba, with just eight appearances this season, and Marcus Rashford, out of action since January with a back injury, should also feature.

Chelsea are also set to welcome the likes of N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic and Tammy Abraham from injury.

These teams who now have almost an entire fit squad available might steal the march on their fairly lesser rivals in the race of the European spots.

The first week after return sees a host of high-profile fixtures with Arsenal traveling to Manchester City on Wednesday before Jose Mourinho takes on his former club Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Sunday sees the football return on Merseyside with the region’s biggest game as Everton host what could be a Liverpool title party.

With so much still left to play for the Premier League’s return has been much awaited. The new realities under which English football is set to resume is sure to add a bit more intrigue.

(With inputs from AFP)

Premier League will be broadcast live in India on the Star Sports network. Initial schedule below: