What are the dashes above Premier League team names on Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime Video coverage of Wolves vs Burnley with dashes above team names
(Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)

Amazon Prime are broadcasting the Premier League this midweek, and eagle-eyed viewers have spotted something never-seen-before on their TV screens - five dashes above each team name at the start of the game.

With broadcasting rights to two gameweeks this season, Amazon Prime is currently showing games for the first time in the Premier League in 2023/24 this week, across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 

Usually, red cards sit above a team name to indicate one side is down to ten men, but as Wolves hosted Burnley and Arsenal took on Luton Town on Tuesday night, Amazon Prime had introduced a brand new feature. But what do the dashes mean? 

Premier League Amazon Prime coverage during Wolves vs Burnley - What do the dashes above Premier League team names mean on Amazon Prime?

Fans were confused with the dashes above team names  (Image credit: X)

What are the dashes above Premier League team names on Amazon Prime? 

Each dash simply represents how many substitutes each side has remaining in the game. 

Premier League sides are allowed to make a maximum of five substitutes in each game, though they can only be made in three separate windows and at half-time. 

Once a substitute is made, a dash will disappear above the team name on Amazon Prime's Premier League coverage, which helps to keep the viewer informed of the state of the game - especially if they have joined late and are wondering if either side can still affect the match with a new player from the bench.

At the end of Arsenal's dramatic 4-3 win against Luton on Tuesday night, for example, Amazon Prime viewers wouldn't have seen any dashes above Luton's name - due to Rob Edwards making all five substitutions - whereas Arsenal would still have had three dashes remaining. 

This feature will continue for the rest of Amazon Prime's coverage this week, with eight more games to come on Wednesday and Thursday. The broadcaster will also show every fixture from the gameweek which falls on Boxing Day later this month. 

Declan Rice of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team's fourth goal to make it 4-3 during the Premier League match between Luton Town and Arsenal FC at Kenilworth Road on December 05, 2023 in Luton, England.

Declan Rice scored the winning goal in the final minute against Luton (Image credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

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Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.