7 new things to look out for this season
The Premier League season has come with a host of changes and amendments, these are seven of them.
Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring for Manchester United in their 4-0 win over West Ham (Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
1. Pitch designs
playOnly traditional and horizontal white lines will be use for pitch designs from next season (GettyImages)
Leicester City, known for their aesthetically designed pitch will have to go simple from this season as the Premier League have implemented rules stating the playing surface must contain no markings other than the traditional horizontal and white lines.
The new amendment is in line with UEFA's regulations for its competitions.
2. Friday night fixtures
playArsenal beat Leicester City 4-3 in the first Friday night fixture to kickstart a Premier League season (AFP)
The 2017/2018 Premier League season kicked off with a thrilling game on Friday, August 11 between Arsenal and Leicester City.
That was not the first Premier League game to be played on a Friday night but it was the first time for the first game of the season.
Friday night fixtures were introduced last year, but this season we might get up to 10 games. It all depends on Sky's schedules.
3. Two-match ban for diving
playPlayers will get two-match ban for diving this season (REUTERS)
ALSO READ: Premier League manager not keen diving clampdown
The FA are going tough on divers in the Premier League and have made provisions for reviewing of diving incidents after games.
A panel that includes a former manager, an ex-player and former referee, will review the incident and decide if a player has dived. If found guilty, a player will be banned for two games.
Danny Murphy, Chris Powell, and Terry Butcher are among the 13-man panel.
4. The ABBA Penalty
playArsenal beat Chelsea in the Community Shied via penalty shoot-out (Getty Images)
Yea, it was a bit confusing for a lot of viewers during the penalty shoot-out at the 2017 Community Shield between Arsenal and Chelsea.
After a 1-1 draw, a Chelsea player first took the first penalty before two Arsenal players followed.
That’s the new ABBA penalty shoot-out system which no longer gives first takers the advantage-60 per cent of those teams starting out ended up victorious.
The FA have chosen to adopt the ABBA system this season and while we are not expecting to see any penalty shoot-out in league games, it will be used when needed in domestic cup games.
5. Carling Cup? Capital One Cup? It’s now Carabao Cup
playCarabao will be the sponsor of the League Cup next season (AFP/Getty Images)
Last season it was called the English League Cup (EFL CUP) but for the 2017/2018 season, it will be called Carabao Cup.
Carabao, an energy drink company is the new sponsor of the League Cup.
Over the years the likes of After Milk, Littlewoods, Rumbelows, Coca-Cola, Worthington, Carling, and Capital One have all been sponsors in previous years.
6. New balls
playOrdem V is the new Premier League ball (Premier League)
New season, new balls and for this new one, the Premier League stars will be using Ordem V.
The Ordem V is Nike’s 17th Premier League ball they have produced since they took over from Mitre as the competition's match ball provider in 2001.
Nike say the 'The Ordem V is a performance-orientated piece of design,
“A unique construction distributes pressure evenly across the ball to ensure an accurate strike while Aerotrac grooves in the surface help ensure a stable flight through the air.”
7. A change in shirt font
play
Romelu Lukaku
(Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
There have been new changes also to the shirt font of jerseys in the Premier League this season.
The font on the players' names is cleaner than last season while the numbers more rounded. Also for the first time, new Premier League badge will be on the shirts.
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