The Premier League kicks off this weekend with Manchester City aiming to maintain their dominance in English football and Ipswich making their return to the top tier. The season begins on Friday with Manchester United facing Fulham, followed by matches throughout the weekend.
Ipswich will host Liverpool on Saturday, while Manchester City will visit Chelsea on Sunday, featuring two of the most anticipated games of the opening weekend.
Arsenal are hopeful they can finally overtake Manchester City for the title, and Manchester United will be looking to bounce back from their worst season since 1990.
Expect changes to handball rules, VAR, and injury time among other adjustments. BBC Sport explores the new faces and changes to watch for in the 2024-25 Premier League season.
The video assistant referee (VAR) system will now require a higher threshold for intervention. Under the new “referee’s call” rule, VAR will only step in if there is clear evidence that the on-field official has made a significant error. This change aims to reduce the number of stoppages for marginal calls and prevent repeated replays of close decisions. Refereeing chief Howard Webb has emphasized the need to avoid excessive scrutiny of decisions.
The Premier League Match Centre account on X will offer “near-live” explanations of VAR decisions, and there will be more replays and decision explanations on stadium screens.
There will also be a noticeable reduction in stoppage time this season due to a new rule on goal celebrations. Time will only be added to the clock after 30 seconds following a goal, rather than from the moment the ball hits the net. This means a game with six goals could see three minutes less added time.
Additionally, attacking players will face stricter penalties for blocking or obstructing opponents at set-pieces, which could lead to more free-kicks for the opposition, as seen with suggestions involving Arsenal’s Ben White.
The handball law has been relaxed slightly. Players are no longer required to keep their arms rigidly by their sides or behind their backs. Instead, the position of the arm or hand will be assessed in relation to the body’s movement. Webb noted that too many handballs were being awarded for natural, justifiable actions, so fewer harsh penalties should be expected this season. Furthermore, a non-deliberate handball leading to a penalty will no longer automatically result in a booking.
Finally, during penalties, the ball must be placed on or directly over the center of the penalty spot, rather than anywhere on the spot.
A quarter of the Premier League managers will be making their debut in the English top flight this opening weekend. The new faces include Arne Slot at Liverpool, Enzo Maresca at Chelsea, Russell Martin at Southampton, Kieran McKenna at Ipswich, and Fabian Hurzeler at Brighton. Slot and Hurzeler have arrived from Feyenoord and St Pauli, respectively, while Martin, McKenna, and Maresca—formerly with Leicester City—earned promotions from the Championship last season.
The transfer market has seen significant activity as well. Manchester United has acquired Lille defender Leny Yoro for £52m, though he will be sidelined initially due to a broken foot, as well as £33.7m Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee and Bayern Munich defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui for nearly £60m in total. Meanwhile, champions Manchester City have signed Brazilian winger Savinho from Troyes for £30.8m. Arsenal have added Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori, who stood out for Italy at Euro 2024, for up to £42m.
Brighton has bolstered its squad with the signing of Gambia winger Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle United for £30m. The club also secured two midfielders: Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord and Brajan Gruda from Mainz, each costing £25m. Minteh, who joined Feyenoord on loan last summer, is effectively new to the Premier League after his brief stint with Newcastle.
Chelsea has been active in the transfer market, bringing in Barcelona striker Marc Guiu and £20.7m goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal. Jorgensen will vie with Robert Sanchez for the starting goalkeeper position.
Tottenham Hotspur has added teenage midfielder Archie Gray to their ranks, signing him from Leeds United for approximately £30m.
West Ham, under Julen Lopetegui, has made significant acquisitions, including Germany’s Euro 2024 striker Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund for £27m and Brazilian winger Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras for £25.5m.