The new Premier League season is almost upon us.
A dramatic campaign last term saw the fate of teams at both the top and bottom of the table decided on the final day, in what was a season to be cherished by supporters after a year of matches played behind closed doors.
Everton narrowly avoided relegation while Liverpool missed out on the title by a single point to Manchester City. Excitement is now building as the 20 teams in the top-flight prepare to battle it out once again, but not everything has remained the same from the previous year.
READ MORE: Liverpool analysis - Ibrahima Konate concern emerges as harsh lesson dealt at Anfield
LFC RATINGS: Harvey Elliott impresses despite tough night against Strasbourg
A number of rule changes have been introduced before a ball has been kicked and will affect the clubs competing in the division this term. Below, we have provided an overview of the updated guidance for 2022/23.
Five substitutions
Premier League clubs will this season be permitted to make a maximum of five substitutions during matches, up from the previous allowance of three. This rule change will certainly be welcomed by Jurgen Klopp, who pushed for this adjustment to be made on more than one occasion due to the demands being placed on his first-team players throughout the entirety of a season.
This rule was first introduced during the 2019/20 season at the time of Project Restart as clubs were given additional help in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But Premier League clubs voted against keeping the arrangement in place ahead of last season despite a number of top European leagues utilising it.
Making clear why he was in favour of this becoming a permanent feature of matches, Klopp said in December: "We have to put the competition on our side and don’t say City has better subs than Southampton or that we have better subs than Burnley. Yes, that’s probably true, but they’re still Premier League teams and can cause us problems.
"The problem is that this intensity for a top-class footballer in England is definitely at the edge. A top-class player will play around 38 Premier League games. There are also two cup competitions – let’s say you don’t go to the final, and let’s add on another five games. That makes 43. They then have international games with their national teams because pretty much all of them play for their national teams – that’s eight, nine or 10 games. Plus the Champions League – and the further you go, the more games it is."
A total of nine players can also be named on the team sheet, which was previously capped at seven.
Penalty kicks
A goalkeeper's position before and when a penalty is being taken by an opposition player has been updated to prevent spot-kicks from being needlessly retaken.
Shot-stoppers were previously required to have part of at least one foot on or above the goalline the moment a penalty was hit. Therefore, if a keeper had one foot in front of the goalline and his other behind it, this was classed as an offence in such a scenario.
Law 14, The Penalty Kick, of The IFAB (International Football Association Board) Laws of the Game now states the following: "When the ball is kicked, the defending goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot touching, or in line with, or behind , the goalline."
Match postponements
As Premier League players continued to be struck down with Covid-19 last season, a number of matches had to be played at later dates as clubs declared themselves unable to fulfil fixtures. This created a significant backlog of games, causing further disruption to an already congested calendar.
Approval will now only be granted in 'truly exceptional' circumstances and where the club in question has taken all reasonable steps to avoid reaching the point of a postponement request.
New guidance now means permission to postpone a match will only be considered if a club has fewer than ten outfield players and one goalkeeper available from their 25-man Premier League squad or fewer than 15 available outfield contracted players and one contracted goalkeeper available to participate.
Multi-ball system
In an attempt to cut down on time-wasting, ten Premier League match balls will be available at games to ensure as little disruption as possible is caused to resume play.
One ball will be in play, one with the fourth official and eight will be placed at various points around the pitch on cones. Two will be behind each goal, with two along each touchline. According to the Daily Mail, top-flight clubs have been instructed to have a minimum of eight ball assistants, who must make eye contact with the player before passing them the ball.
Coin toss
The coin toss that takes place before contests get underway determines which team will earn the right to get the game started, as well as deciding which end of the pitch to attack first. This is something players could take part in if desired, though the IFAB have issued an update to Law 8, 'The Start and Restart of Play', which rules the referee must be the man to take responsibility of this pre-match exchange.
Law 8 (1) now makes clear: "The toss of a coin to determine the ‘ends’ and kick-off is the responsibility of the referee and the wording should be consistent with Law 10 (Determining the Outcome of a Match)."
READ NEXT:
Liverpool major pre-season hope is obvious despite injuries and mixed results
Former Liverpool striker Bobby Duncan sees career take another twist after leaving Derby
Jamie Carragher makes Roberto Firmino Liverpool transfer claim amid Juventus links
Michael Owen left concerned after Liverpool signed Champions League winner from Dortmund
