WHY CHANGES IS COMING TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE

WHY CHANGE IS COMING TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE

By Reggie Owens T he winter break in the English Premier League is a bit special this year. Firstly, there is going to be one, and secondly, this is because we are having a World Cup in December. And not just any old World Cup, this is one in one of the hottest, most inhospitable places on Earth. Even though the games

themselves will be played in giant, newly-built and airconditioned stadiums, the impact on the players who are taking part will be significant.

What will this do to the league? The EPL is the greatest footballing league in the world, and attracts the world’s best players. Looking at the top teams, almost all players will be heading over to Qatar at the end of November. Playing for your country in a World Cup is a massive honour, and no player is going to be risking their place in the tournament. This creates and interesting dynamic in the second half of October and all of November.

Saturday, 15th October has ten games, involving almost all of the teams in the league. This is the first of the weeks that the smaller teams will be looking to push hard on the top teams. The top game of the weekend is Liverpool versus Manchester City at Anfield. The expectation is that this is not going to be a classic game as the players will be starting to get into the World Cup preparation. While City and Liverpool can’t help but score, the prediction is for them to share the points with a brace each.

On the flip side there will be Fulham against Bournemouth at Craven Cottage. Both teams are newly promoted, and by now will have quite a few games under their collective belts. These teams know each other, and they have ambition. Bournemouth’s manager is Scott Parker, who was the manager for Fulham in 2019, their last season in the Premiership. The team hasn’t spent big so far in the transfer window. They rely heavily on one up top, with Dominic Solanke earning his shot at a full Premier League season as a starter and Kieffer Moore as a great Plan B, particularly away from home. They have lost a number of top players from last season. Loanees Nat Philips and Freddy Woodman have returned to their parent clubs while Gary Carhill, Leif Davis and Todd Cantwell have all been dropped from the line-up. The latter three all played a part in the promotion season last year. Fulham have had their share of players leaving. The biggest was, of course, Jean Michael Seri, who was signed in 2018 from Nice for £30million, a club record. He is now leaving for nothing. Fulham have let another 13 players go, including big ticket players such as Alfie Mawson. He also joined on 2018 from Swansea for £20million. Alfie struggled for games, making just 44 appearances. At this point of the season, and with the top team players being careful regarding injuries, expect this game to be a ding-dong match, and the start of a six-week streak of high-pressure football. Both Fulham and Bournemouth will be looking for at least 15 points over end of October and November.

Another team who will be looking to make hay in November will be Leeds. They have games against Leicester, Fulham and Bournemouth which should be tough but winnable, and big games against Liverpool, Spurs and Man City. All three of those teams will have players who are playing in the World Cup and will be second-thinking how they play. This is a perfect time for Leeds to take some surprise scalps. Leeds changed their head coach last year from the mercurial talisman that is Marcelo Bielsa to Jesse Marsch. Jesse is an American, but let’s not hold that against him! He is bright, fresh and very intelligent. He has introduced a more interesting, adventurous form of football that is built upon the stubborn bedrock created by Bielsa. Biesla ran the players ragged with his high intensity football that required peak physical condition and full commitment which Leeds struggled with last season. Jesse earned plaudits at Red Bull Salzburg but then failed at the sister club Red Bull Leipzig. Jesse has won some fans over after securing Premier League safety, but his job is to now improve the squad whilst winning the fans over who are still mourning the loss of club legend Bielsa. The smart money is for Leeds to pick up points against at least two of the big three clubs, giving them a very useful 14-18 points in the run up to the winter break.

Overall, the pre-World Cup period in the EPL is shaping up to be a very exciting six weeks and will set the stage for an outstanding start to the New Year.