The previous season saw Manchester United regain their dominance at the top of the table by lifting their third Premier League title.
Once again the reigning champions were in the thick of the contest for the title, along with the runners up from the previous year - Newcastle United as well as Arsenal and Liverpool.
Sunderland, who were playing their final season at Roker Park along with Derby County and Leicester City were promoted from Division One.
The new season brought heavy investment especially in foreign players.
Amongst the new stars joining the Premier League were Italians Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli at Chelsea, Patrick Vieria at Arsenal and Paolo Di Canio at Sheffield Wednesday.
All of whom would have a major impact in the League for years to come, the biggest transfer though was Alan Shearers move from Blackburn to boyhood club Newcastle United for £15million - a World record signing.
Middlesbrough who had spent heavily on high profile foreign stars including Fabrizio Ravenelli, would provide some of the more memorable moments of the season.
Bryan Robson's Boro were on the losing side in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals to Chelsea and Leicester respectively.
They were also relegated after having 3 points deducted for cancelling a fixture against Blackburn.
It was Nottingham Forest and Sunderland who joined them in relegation to Division One.
Forest had sacked Frank Clark in December with Stuart Pearce stepping in as caretaker. He won manager of the month in January before stepping down in March to be replaced by Dave Bassett.
Arsenal under new manager Arsene Wenger, challenged for the title and finished in third place, with a UEFA Cup spot.
Finishing level on points with Arsenal were Liverpool who finished in fourth and Newcastle who came in second place and with a Champions League spot.
At the top of the tree was once again Manchester United, who ended with 75 points, 7 points clear of the other three clubs.
Alex Ferguson was again named Manager of the Year. His new star David Beckham was the Young Player of the Year.
Juninho of Middlesbrough lifted the Carling Premiership Player of the Year, Gianfranco Zola of Chelsea was the FWA Football of the Year.
Top goalscorer Alan Shearer picked up the PFA Player of the Year award.
The Newcastle forward scored 25 League goals finishing with two more than Arsenal's Ian Wright.
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man Utd | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 76 | 44 | 32 | 75 |
| 2 | Newcastle | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 73 | 40 | 33 | 68 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 62 | 32 | 30 | 68 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 62 | 37 | 25 | 68 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 47 | 34 | 13 | 61 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 58 | 55 | 3 | 59 |
| 7 | Sheff Wed | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 50 | 51 | -1 | 57 |
| 8 | Wimbledon | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 49 | 46 | 3 | 56 |
| 9 | Leicester | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 46 | 54 | -8 | 47 |
| 10 | Spurs | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 44 | 51 | -7 | 46 |
| 11 | Leeds | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 28 | 38 | -10 | 46 |
| 12 | Derby | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 45 | 58 | -13 | 46 |
| 13 | Blackburn | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 42 | 43 | -1 | 42 |
| 14 | West Ham | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 39 | 48 | -9 | 42 |
| 15 | Everton | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 44 | 57 | -13 | 42 |
| 16 | Southampton | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 56 | -6 | 41 |
| 17 | Coventry | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 38 | 54 | -16 | 41 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 35 | 53 | -18 | 40 |
| 19 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 51 | 60 | -9 | 39 |
| 20 | Notts Forest | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 31 | 59 | -28 | 34 |
Source: DSG
