- Big-spending Guangzhou-based side have coaxed Footballer of the Year Igor Sartori from the champions
- New-look Eastern side expected to challenge while Southern have moved to Mong Kok Stadium
The city's top flight returns for its sixth season as the Hong Kong Premier League on August 30 and it is set to be as unpredictable as ever.
Last season, Tai Po became the first district team to win the title and the third different champions in four seasons. Will we see another new name on the trophy in 2019-20?
That's just one of the questions that will be answered over the next 180 games of football before the season ends on May 23.
It all starts with deposed champions Kitchee hosting newly promoted Happy Valley at Mong Kok Stadium on Friday night before a weekend of action that should go some way to telling us what to expect from the season ahead.
Hong Kong Premier League 2019-20 " full fixture list
Can Kitchee reclaim their trophy?
There's a new man at the helm of the most successful team in HKPL history. Bosnian coach Blaz Sliskovic is the man in charge and the former Yugoslav Footballer of the Year is tasked with bettering Kitchee's fourth-place finish last season. The new coach, who was appointed in July, can call on new signings Bleda Rodriguez from rivals Eastern, Yuen Long's Cleiton and Willingsson Souza from Southern. "Kitchee is the best club in Hong Kong and I want to help them win the championship. That's why I am here," said Sliskovic. A fourth HKPL title is what the fans demand after a season that saw them lose their two-year unbeaten streak and miss out on three titles in a row.
Have Eastern taken a shortcut to the title?
Title-winning Tai Po coach Lee Chi-kin has come in and he's brought with him nine of the players that served him so well last season: Eduardo Praes, Joao Emir, Tsang Man-fai, Lee Ka-ho, Lee Ka-yiu, Leung Kwun-chung, Fung Hing-wa, Chak Ting-fung and Chung Wai-keung. It is an interesting experiment for Eastern, essentially adding the spine of the best team in the league and the man that masterminded their ascent and they will hope that at the very least they can get back into the top four after finishing fifth. The dream is to repeat the title win of 2015-16.
Can Southern thrive further north?
One of the surprise packages of last season, Southern finished third and it could have been even more of a success given they were involved in the title race until the final few rounds, but that takes nothing away from what was a great season. Visiting Aberdeen Sports Ground was not an easy feat for away sides given Southern's passionate and vocal fans, but can they recreate that atmosphere at Mong Kok Stadium? That's where they have relocated to after Aberdeen is finally getting the facelift it has long needed. Settling into their new surroundings is key to further success.
Will we have another new name on the trophy this season?
R&F came so close last season and it seems they will stop at nothing to win the title. The Guangzhou-based side finished second last season, with Tai Po winning the title at their Yanzigang Stadium, and they have doubled down to make sure that does not happen again this time out. They have the biggest budget in the division by some distance " their HK$50 million dwarfs Kitchee's HK$30 million " and they have put it to use once again with another summer spending spree.
Is there more to come from Igor Sartori?
The biggest name R&F have brought in is Hong Kong Footballer of the Year Igor Sartori from Tai Po. The Brazilian is rumoured to have become the best paid player in the league on a reported HK$300,000 a month. He "will be worth every penny if he can play to the same standard as he did with Tai Po," said R&F general manager Tyler Kwok Nengpei. If the 26-year-old becomes the first player to retain the Player of the Year crown, that should see R&F to a first title.
Can there be another fairy tale for Tai Po?
"We never expected to win. Never," was the line from the champions when they won the league last season, but that title win and the open-top bus tour seems a long time ago now. The budget has been slashed and there have been wholesale changes at the club, with most of the exodus following coach Lee to Eastern. It will be interesting to see how those left and the new faces gel under incoming coach Fung Hoi-man. Where will they sit in the table when it is time to enter the AFC Champions League qualifiers early next year?
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Will we see any controversial refereeing decisions?
Thank goodness Hong Kong has not yet gone in for VAR. Never mind the prohibitive cost " an estimated HK$1 million per game " but let's face it, it would not be fun, based on what's happening in the English Premier League. Last year there was enough refereeing controversy without the added trouble of cameras changing decisions. The city nearly became a "world laughing stock" after referee Tong Kui-sum demanded Eastern concede after scoring a controversial equaliser against Tai Po in their Sapling Cup tie.
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