With the players returning from international football and vacations, teams are getting ready to prepare themselves for the new season. The normal pre-season ritual of touring overseas countries is unavailable; hence the teams have to prepare locally for the season. Here are some of the top relevant Premier league news:
Return of fans to stadiums
With the pandemic affecting our normal day-to-day lives, football was not spared as stadiums were left empty with no fans to spectate over matches. Playing behind closed doors was adopted by various sports bodies worldwide as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the virus.
This characterized the 2020/21 Premier League campaign as an unorthodox campaign, with most matches played behind closed doors. However, towards the end of the campaign, the Premier League body allocated home fans slots of up to 10000 fans per home game. There were no away fans allowed in stadiums in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
This was no match to the usual feel and passion that is associated with the Premier League.
Football is indeed made for the fans, and nothing can be compared to a fully packed stadium with fans chanting and roaring their team to victory. This lack of fans often made the match lackluster as there is no added element or added pressure on the players.
What to Expect: The Return of Betting and Bonuses
The Premier League, however, has announced the return of fans to the stadium. As seen with the Euro 2020 tournament where the stadiums were jam-packed with spectators cheering their countries, the Premier League, coordinating with clubs and working together with the government, is committed to ensuring that the 21/22 Premier League season is played in full stadiums.
The stadiums will be open to home and away fans too. This is expected to bring back the feel to football as the sport truly belongs to the fans. Betting action will grow in popularity once again and bookies will give out loads of bonuses.
With the new atmosphere in stadiums, you can take this opportunity and place a no deposit free bet and hopefully win money without taking any risks. The fans add an edge and will ensure the term home advantage is maximized to the fullest.
Return of fans to stadiums follows a directive by the government that aims to lift the remaining restrictions to give the individual power to make informed decisions about how they will manage the coronavirus.
The pilot events in which this easing of social distancing requirements was the Euro 2020 and Wimbledon tennis tournament.
However, the fans were required to show proof of double vaccination or a negative result on a covid 19 test taken within the recent 48 hours. This served as a passport that allowed the Euro 2020 final to accommodate 60000 fans, although its capacity is 90000. The decision to use this passport method solely lies on respective sporting bodies and will not be compulsory.
Campaign Fixtures
The Premier League fixtures have already been drawn and are out, and we have some mouthwatering clashes for the opening week for ourselves. One of the oldest and fiercest rivalries to grace English football is among the opening fixtures. With the fans back in old Trafford, Manchester United vs Leeds United is expected to be an absolute cracker of a match.
Harry Kane, an exemplary striker, has been the subject of various transfer news that debate where he will ply his trade in the coming season. On an opening Day, his current team, Tottenham Hotspur, will play host to his suitors Manchester City. This leaves us with questions about whose colors Kane will be donning on that day.
All the newly promoted sides are fortunate enough to start their campaigns at home, with Brentford being the unluckiest of the bunch, drawing Arsenal for their first-ever Premier League game.
This is expected to be entertaining as Arsenal does not have European football this season for the first time in 25 years and all eyes are on them. Brentford is well capable of pulling surprises as they are nothing but short of Talent.
Norwich faces injury-ridden Liverpool, a mountain of a task before them. Watford host Aston Villa and with the fans back in, expect a notable difference.
Here are the opening day fixtures in the EPL:
Brentford v Arsenal; Everton v Southampton; Chelsea v Crystal Palace; Leicester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers; Burnley v Brighton & Hove Albion, Norwich City v Liverpool; Newcastle United v West Ham United; Manchester United v Leeds United; Watford v Aston Villa; Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City.
Competition Expectation
Liverpool lost the Premier League title to Manchester City, Albeit holding it only for a season. They, however, had a season to forget as they had injuries that forced their managers to resort to young players and emergency signings to fill the gap.
Liverpool, however, deservedly so snuck to the top 4 in the final weeks of last season. This season with reinforcements of Ibrahima Konate, and the return of Virgil Van Dijk, Jurgen Klopp’s men will be back on the hunt for glory.
This makes them second favorites after Manchester City. Manchester City is favorites to win the league for the fourth time in five seasons under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.
Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham follow that order, with Leicester Fc and Arsenal football club rounding them off. This, however, is not set in stone as we may experience a repeat of what happened last season with Westham in particular, making this season a tight season. Chelsea may fancy themselves to win the premier league, drawing confidence from their tactical masterpiece forged by their tactician Thomas Tuchel when they robbed City of both the FA Cup and Champions League.
At the bottom end of the table, Pundits expect the fight to be between Watford and Norwich. Burnley, Crystal Palace, and newly promoted Brentford aren’t far away from the speculation of dropping to the championship.
We expect a thrilling premier league and hope the race for the title will be tight for the fans. This will serve as a cushion against the hectic year that gives hope to individuals through the sport they love FOOTBALL. We cannot wait for the start of the 2021/22 Premier League season.
