Premier League perform embargo U-turn for Aston Villa and Wolves

All 20 clubs in the English top tier will navigate their media duties a little differently from the start of the 2024/25 season, with the usual embargo of an hour before kick-off set to be binned.

Clubs unveiling their starting lineups and substitutes on matchdays will now follow a new window of 75 minutes before the first whistle. The change has been made to align the Premier League with methods outlined by UEFA in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

Fans of Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and all other 18 sides in the division will now have an extra quarter of an hour to ponder their teams’ selections. It also provides a little earlier notice for fantasy football players eager to find out if their chosen stars are starting, benched or out of the squad entirely.

It’ll be interesting to see whether the team news embargo U-turn will have an impact on the clubs as well as the fans. An extra 15 minutes may not seem that significant but it could give opposition managers a better chance to respond with late tactical adjustments.

This change is just one of several being made by the Premier League to improve the matchday experience for supporters. Semi-automated offsides will soon be introduced to reduce the time taken for refereeing checks, while other VAR adjustments are expected to be implemented.

Wolves will be particularly keen to see how the VAR changes play out as the Old Gold recently fronted an attempt to revoke the technology altogether. The motion failed as Wanderers were sensationally outvoted 19-1 but it re-sparked the conversation and kept the Premier League on its toes.