Can history predict who will be declared champions this season?

380 games. 34,200 minutes. 2,052,000 seconds. That’s how much football will be played in one season of the Premier League alone.

With the tournament in full flow, football has taken over the country not for the first time this year, but, as with all competitions, there can only be one winner. With this in mind, the UK’s number one football goal manufacturer, FORZA, has delved into the history books since the league’s inception in 1992 to discover if a 2018/19 winner can be predicted based on previous champions…

Did you know…

Only six teams have ever won the Premier League

Winning teams throughout history have been made up of between 21% – 70% of English players

Every Premier League winner has started with a letter from the first half of the alphabet

The 1994 / 95 season is key to Premier League history

Promotion

Since the tournament began all those years ago, no team has ever been crowned champions the same year they began playing in the league. Whilst it’s no mean feat to be promoted into the most attended league in Europe, unfortunately for Cardiff City, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers, this is where the celebrations will end for them this year.

1994 / 95 Season

You may be thinking, what has the 1994 / 95 season got to do with prediction this year’s winners? The answer… everything! Only teams who featured in or before the 1994 / 95 season, so 1992 / 93, 1993 / 94 and 1994 / 95, have won the title, which means we say goodbye to AFC Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Huddersfield Town and Watford.

Alphabet

Not so statistical, but still just as important, only teams whose club name starts with a letter from the first half of the alphabet have brought the trophy back home. So long Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.

Managers

Managers are just as important as the team who play under them, which is why clubs who don’t have a manager from Scotland, France, Portugal, Italy, Chile or Spain aren’t looking likely contenders this year.

Captains

Captains are the managers on the pitch, so like them, it’s key to look at the stats. Those who have lifted the trophy at the end of a gruelling season have only ever come from England, France, Ireland, Wales, Serbia, Belgium or Jamaica, so it’s at this point we say goodbye to Manchester United.

Yellow Cards

We all know things may get a big fractious on the pitch, especially when you’re a title contender, but those yellow cards all add up. Since the league began over two decades ago, the amount of yellow cards a team received the season before they went on to win the title (excluding second yellows to make it a red) ranges from anywhere between none to 71. Interestingly no winning team has ever been issued 43 or 52 yellow cards the season before they won, unlike Chelsea and Leicester City.

England

Historically the majority of Premier League teams were made up of English players, with 70% of the winning 1994 / 95 Blackburn Rovers and 1995 / 96 Manchester United sides hailing English heritage. As time has gone by and the Premier League has continued to become the richest football league in the world, clubs have been able to make larger transfers for players overseas. Throughout the league’s history, winning teams have been made up of between 21% – 70% of English players and with Arsenal’s squad this year only comprising of 15%, they’re not set to bring back any silverware for a 15th consecutive year.

Previous winners

With Everton having never won a title since 1992, Manchester City are set to be this season’s predicted winners…

… unless another team does!

Would you like to see or use this raw data? Contact our PR & Communications Executive, Sara Perrett, by emailing sara@networldsports.com for further information.

To celebrate the start of the new Premier League season, we’re giving you the chance to win a £1,000 makeover for your club with #FORZAFixUp. To find out more and enter the competition, click here.

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By Sara Perrett

