The 2026-27 Premier League season kicks off on Friday and while the familiar rivalries return, the English top flight has some alterations this campaign. From evolved rules to new faces and broadcast changes, there is plenty to catch up on before a ball is kicked.Law changesThe Premier League has some law and rule changes this season and the first will lead to a crackdown on time wasting.Referees will be able to start a countdown of five seconds if they believe players are ticking down the clock during throw-ins and goal-kicks. If players take more than five seconds once the countdown has been enforced, the goal-kick becomes a corner and the throw-in is reversed.That is not all that is being done to cut time-wasting. Last season, if a player was injured and play stopped as a result, they had to leave the pitch for 30 seconds. In this campaign, it will be increased to a minute and the only exceptions will be if a foul that received a card led to the injury, or other unusual circumstances.There will also be a change to limit tactical timeouts by goalkeepers going down injured. If they do, a manager must choose another player to leave the pitch for one minute. Substitutions will also need to take just 10 seconds; if a player takes longer than that to leave the pitch, his replacement will not be able to come on for a further minute.There will also be changes to video assistant referee interventions. VARs will now be able to intervene on second yellow cards if they have been shown in error. They cannot, however, tell a referee to issue a second yellow if one is not shown.VARs will also be able to get involved where an attacking foul happens before a set piece is taken which leads to a penalty, a goal or a disciplinary sanction. They will be able to intervene to have the set piece retaken.Despite players being given red cards for speaking to opposition players with their mouths covered at the World Cup this past summer, this is not a rule that will be adopted by the Premier League.Managerial appointmentsXabi Alonso at Chelsea is one of nine new managers at the start of the Premier League campaign. Photograph: Alex Ferrelly/Crystal Pix/Sports Press Photo/ShutterstockThis season the defending champions, Arsenal, will have the longest-serving manager in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta has been in charge since 2019 and delivered his first title last season; Aston Villa’s Unai Emery is second on the list, with Leeds’ Daniel Farke third.The upcoming campaign will set a record for the most new managers at the start of a Premier League season. The nine new names in the dugout are: