The Premier League season begins on Friday with Manchester United taking on Fulham at Old Trafford. Last season we saw several Premier League records broken by teams and players alike, but what possible records could we see surpassed over the next nine months of top flight football?
James Ward-Prowse is eyeing Beckham's free kick record
West Ham United midfielder James Ward-Prowse is a deadball specialist, even scoring from a corner kick towards the end of last season. But it is his proficiency from free kicks that has put him in touching distance of a record that has stood for over twenty years. Between October 1996 and May 2003, David Beckham scored 18 direct free kick goals for Manchester United. Going into the opening game against Aston Villa on Saturday, the 29-year-old midfielder has netted 17 direct freekicks.
Erling Haaland racing towards 100 goals
Manchester City's Erling Haaland is no stranger to setting scoring records in the Premier League. The Norwegian's 36 strikes in the 2022/23 season broke the long-standing record of 34 goals shared by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer. If he could better his own record by just one goal and rack up 37 this season then the Yorkshire-born striker will reach 100 goals in the fastest time. The current record is held by Alan Shearer who needed 124 games, by May 2025 Haaland will have played a maximum of 104 matches.
That isn't the only record the former Borussia Dortmund forward is after, should he win the Golden Boot again this year it would be the third time in a row. A feat only Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry have previously achieved. Although he stands at 6′ 4″ most of his goals have been with that favoured left foot, if the big number 9 can hit seven with his left this season he will reach 50 goals. While he is a long way off Mohamed Salah's overall left-footed record (125), he could be the sharpest to a half-century.
Chelsea's card tally already in the record book
Last year Chelsea set a new record for the most yellow cards in a single season when they picked up 105 bookings. The Blues already have the record for the most in Premier League history, and will become the first side to hit the 2,000 bookings mark assuming they pick up 18 more this season.
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Arsenal and Everton are the sides with the most red cards, is Mikel Arteta the common denominator? The Gunners have had 104 sendings off while the Sean Dyche's side have seen player's sent to the dressing room on 107 occassions.
James Milner from youngest scorer to most durable player
When James Milner burst onto the scene in 2002 with Leeds United, he was the second-youngest player in the Premier League ever. Weeks later he became the youngest scorer in the competition when he grabbed a goal against Sunderland. Fast forward 22 years and the trustworthy midfielder is one of just ten players to have won Premier League titles with different clubs and has 634 appearances in the English top flight. If he takes part in 20 games this season then he will break Gareth Barry's record for the most matches ever.
Ashley Young clocking up the minutes towards a new record
The Everton full back began playing in the Premier League with Watford some 18 years ago, incidentally his first game was against the Toffees on August 19th, 2006. Some of his opponents from that game have gone on to manage Arsenal (Mikel Arteta), England (Lee Carsley), Inter Miami (Phil Neville) and even club ownership with Tim Howard buying a stake in Houston Dynamo. But Young is still going, and despite two seasons in Serie A, he has already played more Premier League minutes than any outfield player with 35,017 on the clock. Only former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has more at 37,289.
If the 39-year-old veteran can play 25 full games, or simply average 60 minutes per game over the whole season, then he will surpass De Gea to take the minutes played record outright.
What other records do you think could be broken this year in the Premier League?