The 2025-26 Premier League season kicks off on Friday when champions Liverpool host AFC Bournemouth .

As ever, the new campaign comes with some law changes and a series of initiatives. Here's what you need to look out for.

The war on holding on corners and set pieces

Throughout the second half of last season, players holding an opponent inside the penalty area seemed to be on the increase -- and now it will be an area of focus for referees in 2025-26.

The question, of course, is whether this will be clamped down on for a few weeks and then forgotten about.

Whenever an initiative like this comes around, there can tend to be accusation that referees are being over-zealous. It then gets scaled back, and we end up back where we started.

But there's an admission that referees have t

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