What’s new in the 2019/20 PL Season
15 Changes in the PL this season
1. New Ball (Nike Merlin Ball)
2. 1st Cuban Player, Onel Hernandez, Norwich City
3. Referees, two new referees in the PL this season, Andy Madley and Peter Bankes
4. Mid-Season Break, the PL will split one round of matches over two weeks in February, 8th & 15th February 2020.
5. Maiden Fixtures,
Bournemouth V Sheffield United Sheffield United V Leicester City Burnley V Norwich City; Aston Villa V Brighton & Hove Albion; Brighton & Hove Albion V Norwich City Sheffield United V Burnley Wolverhampton V Sheffield United Brighton V Sheffield United
6. Head-to-head Records, H2H records will now be used as tiebreakers with teams level on points, instead of goal difference
7. Goalkeepers facing penalties Goalkeepers facing penalties will now have to keep at least a part of one foot on the goalline or, if jumping, in line with the goalline when the penalty is taken. The goalkeepers are not permitted to stand behind the line.
8. Cards for managers, Managers can now be booked with a yellow or a red card as a result of their behaviour.
9. Kick-Offs, Winning the coin toss now enables you to have your captain to take the kick-off.
10. Dropped Balls, if play is stopped and a dropped ball is required, any player from that team that last touched the ball.
11. Substitutions, the substitutes when sub off must exit the pitch at the nearest point and return to the dressing room or technical area.
12. Free-Kicks, if there is a wall of three or more defenders, the Attacking players will not be allowed within 1 yard of the wall, if they are within 1 yard of the wall the referee can award an indirect free kick against them.
13. Handballs, if a goal is scored with the use of the hand or arm it will be disallowed even if it is accidental.
14. Debuting Managers, 5 new managers
14.1 Frank Lampard – Chelsea
14.2 Daniel Farke – Norwich City
14.3 Dean Smith – Aston Villa
14.4 Chris Wilder – Sheffield United
14.5 Graham Potter – Brighton
15. Video Assistant Referee (VAR) All 380 matches will use VAR. There are 4 main components where VAR will be used; Goals, Penalties, Red Cards & Mistaken identity.