Premier League's 'Big Six' five substitutes stance in 2020 after rule U-turn

Jurgen Klopp will be delighted with the decision by Premier League clubs to reimplement the rule that will allow teams to make five substitutions per game.

The rule had been used during the Project Restart return to football for the final rounds of the 2019/2020 season. But it was discontinued in the two campaigns following that, with top-flight teams reverting to three permitted changes per match.

It was a rule that has frequently frustrated Liverpool boss Klopp, who has consistently made his support for five subs clear. Many of Europe's other top leagues had kept the change permanently despite the easing of coronavirus restrictions, with England left as an outlier.

But the Premier League confirmed on Thursday that enough clubs had voted in favour of the rule being reverted to five permitted substitutions for it to be brought back. The league confirmed in a statement that teams would be allowed the extra changes from the start of next season.

"Premier League Shareholders met today and discussed a range of matters. Clubs agreed to change the rules relating to substitute players. From next season, clubs will be permitted to use five substitutions, to be made on three occasions during a match, with an additional opportunity at half-time. A total of nine substitutes can be named on the team sheet." the statement read.

Klopp is sure to make full use of the new change, with the German having used five subs the most during the Project Restart period. In the nine games that Liverpool played to finish the 2019/2020 campaign, they used five subs seven times.

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That was the second-most in the Premier League, with Brighton using their full complement eight times. While Pep Guardiola is renowned as a manager not afraid to make changes to his team, the Manchester City boss only used five subs in four games.

Manchester United claimed third spot in the table that season, using five subs five times, though they could be more tempted to use them under their new manager, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having been sacked. The same could also be true of Chelsea, with Frank Lampard using his full range of subs just twice.

That could spell the future for Everton, who like City used seven subs four times. Mikel Arteta used five subs in more than half of the games Arsenal played during Project Restart and will likely again be one of the bigger users of it.

Antonio Conte is almost certain to totally revamp Tottenham's approach to the five subs rule, with Jose Mourinho having never used the full complement. The new rule will be one of the biggest changes to Premier League clubs for some time, with managers needing to get to grips with it quickly.

How many times each Premier League club used five subs in Project Restart

1) Brighton and Hove Albion - 8

2) Liverpool - 7

3) Bournemouth, Norwich City - 6

4) Manchester United, Arsenal - 5

5) Manchester City, Newcastle United, Everton - 4

6) Leicester City - 3

7) Chelsea - 2

8) Wolves, Southampton, West Ham, Aston Villa, Watford - 1

9) Tottenham Hotspur, Sheffield United, Burnley, Crystal Palace - 0