The new 2020/2021 season is set to be unique for quite a number of reasons, with top of the list being the very odd dates involved in games.
With the Premier League fixtures expected to be released next week, fans can expect to see unique dates especially because of the absence of several typical breaks in the season.
Notably, there will be four rounds of midweek fixtures since the winter break was scrapped for this season due to congestion of games.
Teams like Tottenham Hotspur find themselves in conundrum because of the new calendar as they have to play Europa League qualifying which begins on September 17, which will be the start of a group stage bid.
We looks at five other changes in the new season which is largely due to the shift in calendar.
1. Season will be five weeks shorter
Considering the fact that the Premier League season will kick off on September 12, the entire campaign will end up being at last five weeks shorter than the standard league season
2. No Winter break
In the past, English teams had one weekend and one full midweek off in February but this will not be the case in the coming season due to the congestion of fixtures.
3. FA Cup replays scrapped
The biggest changes in the new season in England will mostly affect cup competitions, with the FA Cup replays set to be scrapped in the coming campaign in a bid to ease congestion of games.
This means that just like in the current Champions League knockout phase in the 2019/2020 season, teams will have to settle the game through extra time and possibly penalties if the game ends in a stalemate
4. Two-legged Carabao games scrapped
The same is the case in the Carabao Cup, which traditionally has two legs in the semi-finals stage.
5. FA Cup Prize money to be halved
Perhaps the biggest blow comes in the form of the winner of the FA Cup, who will have to make due with half the rewards next season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The winner of next season's FA Cup trophy will receive £1.8million.
The draw for the FA Cup extra preliminary and preliminary rounds is set to take place on August 18.
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