English Premier League is the top-tier or top-flight football tournament in the UK. The winners of this league are qualified to appear in European competitions. A typical season starts in August and ends in May next year, with a winter break in between.
But, several new things have happened in English Premier League 2021. The world grappled with the Coronavirus pandemic and came to a complete halt. Needless to say, the league was also affected. The 1920-21 season due to start in August was pushed to September 12. The league is being completed behind closed gates and at some stadiums with only 2,000 spectators, as we speak.
Several questions about the league’s 30th season must be looming over your mind. Here are a few most frequent ones asked.
When will the English Premier League 2021 start?
Though no confirmed dates are out as yet, but the English premier league 2021 is expected to start according to the usual schedule. The start date will be in August 2021, and there will be a break in between for the FIFA world cup.
This season will have the mid-season break in February for the second time. The teams will have less time to prepare and to manage logistics, experts say. But, it is set off by the fact that all matches are being played in closed doors, as attendees are not allowed due to lockdown situations in the UK.
When are English Premier League 2021 fixtures announced?
One major change due to the lockdown effect is that all matches will be telecast via Sky TV and another partnering channel. So, fans may enjoy EPL from their homes.
The fixtures for 380 matches to be played in the season 2020-21 were announced in December 2020.
When 2020-21 Live TV fixtures are announced?
According to Premier League’s official site, only tentative dates for the start of the season are expected to be announced on these dates. Due to unprecedented situations prevalent in the UK, the dates of the announcement are also just an indication and not the confirmed ones. The site suggests downloading the digital calendar EPL to stay updated about the events.
September – 28 August 2020
October – 11 September 2020
November – 22 September 2020
December/January – 9 October 2020
History of English Premier League (EPL)
The dates for February Live telecasts are available on Sky Sports. The league will enter the 22ndmatch week on Feb 3.
There will be a break in June-July for Euro 2020, which will run from Jun 11 – July 11, 2021.
What will be the new changes in the 2020-21 Premier League season?
The Premier League 2020-21 is coming with various interesting changes.
- The Premier League Anthem has changed. The new anthem will be played at stadiums at the start of the match, moments before kick-off.
- A new ball is being introduced this season. It is a work of exceptional and continuous designing and redesigning by Nike experts. Around 8 years have gone into the making of this football that comes with improved aerodynamics.
- New referees and assistant referees are inducted into the top-flight squad. New referees to join are Darren England and Robert Jones.
Who won the 2020 Premier League?
2020 premier league was won by Liverpool, who crushed Chelsea in an 8-point, nail-biting win. The season was supposed to end on May 17, but due to the pandemic, the season culminated on 26 July 2020.
Mohammad Salah was the top goal scorer of this season.
Many of the games in this season were played behind closed doors due to lockdown’s impact on people’s attendance at the stadiums.
Bournemouth; Watford; Norwich City were relegated in this season.
Leeds United, West Bromwich, and Albion Fulham are the teams promoted to the 2020-21 season.
2020-21 Premier League will be the 29th season, and it started on September 12 just eleven weeks apart from the previous season.
Which stadiums will be open for the audience in the 2020-21 English Premier League?
Emirates Stadium hosted the Sheffield United game and allowed the audience in the 2020-201 EPL season on October 3.
Amex Stadium allowed 2,500 football fans who witnessed a friendly match between Chelsea and Brighton.
Burnley stadium will allow approx. 5,850 fans while operating at almost 20% capacity.
However, no away fans will be allowed in any stadiums. And, there will be no chanting or singing. The reason is to check the spread of the virus which might propagate through respiratory droplets.
The stadiums have worked around the issue of who those fans would be. They have given priority to the audience having the advance season ticket and those selected through voting at fan clubs.
When will fans return to watch matches in-stadium in the 2020-21 season?
UK sports association has suggested that the season is to be completed behind closed doors. The spectators were not allowed at all in the July, 2020 when the last season ended. And, at that time, it was proposed to play with no audience for about a year. Players needed to go under quarantine 14 days before the start of their matches to avoid contracting the virus.
However, after the matches started in September 2020, the fans in drastically reduced numbers were allowed in stadiums from October 2020 onwards. Currently, the UK is divided into various tiers depending upon the pandemic situation prevailing in those areas.
Tier 2 region’s stadiums are Southampton, Brighton, Liverpool, and Everton. According to the newly updated rules, only Liverpool and Everton are now left in tier 2 and can have the audience viewing the matches, but as per allowed capacity.
Conclusion
The way pandemic has affected every sphere of life, hoopla, and confusion around the Premier League 2020-21 season is quite valid. All are trying to make the situation favorable and safe for every entity involved. While the world is trying to get back to normal, the newer strain is pushing back the efforts, but hopefully, all would end soon.
Since the 2020-21 season is expected to end on May 23, 2021, the next season can start at the usual time. But, there will be changes in the schedule due to Euro 2020, due to which the players may get overtly exhausted. All these changes and possibilities have created various betting opportunities. Accordingly, one can find new bets to try luck upon in the season 2020-21.