Premier League 2020-21: City favourites to reclaim crown

When is the big kick-off?

The 2020/21 Premier League season kicks off on the weekend of the 12th and 13th of September, 2020. Manchester City and Manchester United are expected to start the campaign later because of their involvement in the latter stages of the Champions League and Europa League.

The season is scheduled to finish on Sunday May 23, 2021.

Who are the new faces?

Marcelo Bielsa, now a cult figure in a certain part of Yorkshire, led Leeds United back into the Premier League for the first time since 2004. The Whites won the Championship title, finishing 10 points clear of West Bromwich Albion, who have also been promoted.

The third new team in the top flight is Fulham, who defeated Brentford 2-0 in the Championship Play-Off final at Wembley.

Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich City were all relegated to the Championship.

How will VAR change, and which rule alterations are in effect?

The Premier League has approved the use of the full FIFA protocol regarding the Video Assistant Review system. On-field referees will be encouraged to use pitch-side monitors on a much more frequent basis, although the VAR parameters (offsides, goals, red cards and mistaken identity) remain the same. Premier League TV viewers will no longer see offside lines being drawn, but instead will just be presented with the final decision.

Assistant referees have been told to keep their flag down for marginal offsides, to avoid goals being incorrectly prevented or ruled out.

The Premier League has also voted to return to a limit of three substitutes.

There will be no tolerance of player encroachment in the box on penalty kicks, and if a player encroaches and then engages with the ball after a penalty is saved or hits the woodwork, that spot-kick will be retaken. If a goalkeeper makes a penalty save after coming off his goal-line, a retake will be ordered, but that will not be the case if the penalty is simply missed.

Are they keeping the winter break?

No, but there will be a split gameweek in January, played over two separate midweeks.

When can fans return to stadiums?

The UK government has green-lit the return of spectators in sporting events such as the World Snooker Championship, and there are tentative plans to allow some fans into all sporting events from the start of October. However, this will be subject to changes in the number of COVID-19 cases, and the Premier League is yet to agree on exact admission numbers with the Government, or indeed the practicalities of how the return will work.

When does the transfer window shut?

Premier League clubs can do transfer business with each other or foreign clubs until Monday October 5 at 11pm. They can then do additional business with EFL teams until October 16.

How can I watch the Premier League?

The rights to broadcast matches live will be largely shared between Sky Sports and BT Sport, with Amazon able to air 20 matches during the 2020/21 campaign.

The BBC did show some matches post-lockdown, but they will now return to only showing highlights.

Who are the Premier League title favourites?

Despite finishing a hefty 18 points behind Liverpool last season, Manchester City are the favourites to reclaim the title in the forthcoming campaign. They are trading at 2.0811/10 on the Betfair Exchange, with defending champions Liverpool at 2.915/8.

The market suggests that for the third season running, the title race will be contested by just two clubs. Manchester United's improvement in 2020 hasn't really moved the needle, as they are 13.012/1 to finish first. A vibrant and young Chelsea side is trading at 18.017/1, with North London duo Arsenal 50.049/1 and Tottenham 60.059/1 seen as outsiders.

After missing out on European qualification, Wolves are 210.0209/1, with Leeds United intriguingly shorter at 190.0189/1.

Who is expected to make the top four?

Unsurprisingly, Manchester City 1.051/20 and Liverpool 1.11/10 are seen as locks in the Top 4 Finish market. Having sneaked into the Champions League spots on the final day of last season, Manchester United are fancied to make it again at 1.4740/85. Chelsea are trading at 1.511/2 to extend their run of top-four finishes.

Then it starts to get really interesting. Wolves have finished seventh in the last two seasons, and are 7.613/2 to make the leap into the UCL spots. Leicester City occupied the top four for most of the last campaign, only to fall just short like Devon Loch. They are 9.417/2 in this market. Arsenal 4.67/2 and Tottenham 4.131/10 are in the midst of rebuilds, while Carlo Ancelotti's Everton are 14.527/2.

Who are the favourites to go down?

West Brom are currently at the head of the Relegation market, trading at odds-on 1.8810/11 to go down, with Fulham just behind them on 2.1211/10.

There's clearly a lot of love for Bielsa's Leeds, as they are 5.04/1 to be relegated, a bigger price than Aston Villa 2.962/1, Sheffield United 4.77/2, Burnley 4.131/10, Newcastle 3.953/1, Brighton 4.67/2 and Crystal Palace 3.02/1. The Palace price makes sense, as they took a solitary point from their final eight games of last season.