Premier League Matchday 1 preview: Stats, team news, key games for 2019/20 EPL kick-off

Topics: TV Schedules, Liverpool, Norwich City, West Ham, Manchester City, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, English Premier League

The Premier League is back! After an 89-day break, the English top-flight kicks off on Friday to the excitement of fans. Here's everything you need to know.

The Premier League is back! After a long 89-day break, the most popular top-flight championship makes a return this Friday with Liverpool's clash against Norwich.

The fixture between the Reds and the newly-promoted side on August 09, 2019 raises the curtain on what is expected to be a thrilling season. After this, the excitement will only continue piling up.

2019/20 English Premier League Matchday 1 fixtures - time and date

Friday, August 09:

Liverpool vs Norwich City at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT

Saturday, August 10:

West Ham vs Man City at 07:30 ET/11:30 GMT
Bournemouth vs Sheffield United at 10:00 ET/14:00 GMT
Burnley vs Southampton at 10:00 ET/14:00 GMT
Crystal Palace vs Everton at 10:00 ET/14:00 GMT
Watford vs Brighton at 10:00 ET/14:00 GMT
Tottenham vs Aston Villa at 12:30 ET/16:30 GMT

Sunday, August 11:

Leicester vs Wolves at 09:00 ET/13:00 GMT
Newcastle vs Arsenal at 09:00 ET/13:00 GMT
Man United vs Chelsea at 11:30 ET/15:30 GMT

Team news/injuries

Leroy Sane and Heung-Min Son are two players who will undoubtedly miss the opening round due to injury and suspension, respectively. Alexandre Lacazette is a doubt for the Gunners, but there are no uncertainties surrounding Bellerin and Holding as they have not made a return yet.

Chelsea have two issues for their opening game against Man United as Rudiger and Kante are tipped to miss out on the Old Trafford trip. The Red Devils will be without Bailly, who is due for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Sessegnon and Cancelo, two new additions, will also miss the opening round.

Who could make their Premier League debuts?

With nearly one-and-a-half billion pounds being spent in the summer transfer window, a number of names are expected to make their Premier League debut with their new clubs. Maguire and Wan-Bissaka are expected to don Man United's jersey in the English top-flight for the first time, as are West Ham duo Fornals and Haller.

Ceballos and Pepe are under doubt, however. The Spaniard picked up a knock during the pre-season and has reportedly recovered but might not be risked. The Ivorian winger, on the other hand, continues working towards full fitness after joining the squad late due to his AFCON 2019 participation. Rodri, who impressed in the Community Shield win over Liverpool, is tipped to start.

Key stats

The last time Man United and Chelsea faced off in the opening round was back in 2004-05. Lampard was in that squad and the Blues ended up winning 1-0.
Pochettino has lost only once against a promoted team as manager of Tottenham. Will Aston Villa make it two defeats for the Argentine?
One thing to note about the Villans ahead of their showdown with Spurs is that they are winless in their last 18 away games in the Premier League, a run which stretches back a few seasons when they were last in the top-flight.
Liverpool haven't lost any of their last 40 home Premier League games. They will now host Norwich, the team with the most away goals in England's top four tiers last season.

What is the media saying ahead of the Premier League's Matchday 1?

Other than the usual hype surrounding the return of the Premier League, everyone is eager to see how VAR will fare in England. Video Assistant Referee failed to make its debut last season, with fans slamming the FA for permitting another campaign of refereeing blunders despite its implementation throughout Europe.

The technology will be used similarly in terms of what can be reviewed. This includes goals, penalties, direct red cards, and mistaken identity. However, one thing that will set the Premier League apart from the others is that VAR has until the next restart of play for review if the ball is in play, and until the second restart of play if the ball is out of play. Any incident that occurs further than that will not be taken into consideration so as not to slow down the speed of England's fast-paced championship.