The English Premier League's Intense 2020/2021 Season is Upon Us!
The seven clubs competing in European competition won't have a potential break until a midweek quarter-final Carabao Cup fixture (December 22nd). The UCL & Europa League will be played across six back to back midweek dates starting October until December.
The English Premier League schedule was released last week, and as expected, the season ahead looks incredibly busy especially if you're one of the seven clubs in European competition. The EPL wouldn't be the same without some fun-filled drama, and the calendar at hand will deliver just that.
EPL - September 12th 2020
The action begins towards the middle of September, as a relentless EPL schedule will leave a mere four spare midweeks until the Champions League final on May 29th – and the same midweek breaks are needed for rearranged EPL matchups.
The seven clubs competing in European competition won't have a potential break until a midweek quarter-final Carabao Cup fixture (December 22nd). The UCL & Europa League will be played across six back to back midweek dates starting October until December.
The coronavirus pandemic played its part last season; the Euro 2021 re-scheduling (June 11th) has put Premier League sides in a tight predicament – notably the seven European hopefuls. As the Carabao Cup rounds have an early start date, the thirteen EPL sides that aren't in Europe won't have a single midweek fixture from October through to December 15th. A crucial time in the domestic competition will now heavily favour the teams with a lesser schedule.
"Some competitions which resumed in 2020 may have a shorter-than-usual recovery/preparation period before the start of their next season," Fifa said.
"For many competitions, the 2020-21 season will involve matches being played in a condensed period due to a delayed start and the inability to end later than usual because of major international tournaments."
EPL Reschedule
The scheduled EPL season initially began in the second week of August; the pushback in schedules across European and domestic competition; the new start adds extra pressure and exhaustion, especially for those involved in European games.
The four rounds of fixtures that would've initially taken place in August plus an extra date at Christmas means that space for an additional five rounds of games was needed.
The season will begin a week later, the winter break has been cancelled, FA Cup replays have been abolished and extra midweek rounds have been added to squeeze the new EPL season into the 2020/2021 calendar.
The old format of your average Premier League season would consist of thirty-four Matchday weekends, three-midweek match-days and one bank holiday - where the new schedule will see thirty-two weekends, five-midweek fixtures and one bank holiday.
Fans in Attendance
The 2020/2021 season will begin as the previous ended, behind closed doors. But fan groups in the Premier League are concerned with the reduced numbers that will eventually come into play once doors open.
With 380 EPL fixtures, 220 will be aired on television – an increase from 200 last season but the main scare is that fans will utilise pirated football feeds to watch their club.
"If fans can't get a ticket, it's the law-abiding ones who miss out," said one source.
A fan from the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust said: "I think there is a misconception among fans that they will be able to watch their team as they did in Project Restart.
"We think there should be some provision for match-going fans because of a public health emergency."
As of today, there have been no official dates mentioning the resumption of crowds in attendance, but rumour has it the government could relax the rules for sporting events during the October and November.
FA Cup
The second round replays being cancelled to aid the EPL fixture list make little impact on the cup. The FA Cup will take place a week earlier this year, while domestic fixtures will be hosted the same weekend.
Carabao Cup
Each of the thirteen clubs that aren't involved in Europe will enter the 2nd round on September 15th. The seven teams playing in UCL & Europa competition will join the following week for round three.
UEFA Alter Rules
UEFA officials have eased on their rules that stop top-tier domestic teams from playing at the same time as Champions League and Europa matches, and this still doesn't answer if a team is needed to play a rearranged European game.