Premier League stadiums have been without what makes them special for over seven months now.

We've all become so numb to the idea of games being played in front of thousands of empty seats that watching highlights of matches where fans were in attendance almost seems surreal.

Something has just become so normal about seeing arenas dressed in massive banners or with television screens of fans watching from home that live human beings feels like an alien concept.

No fans in attendance

Like, seriously, how did we ever stand in the terraces with 60,000 bellowing peers as recently as March? It seems bonkers when you consider everything that's happened across 2020.

However, there will come a day, when it's safe, that supporters will be rushing through the turnstiles again, grabbing their chicken balti pies and belting out chants on a Saturday afternoon.

It certainly seems like a distant prospect for Premier League stadiums to be filled to the rafters again, but perhaps it's not unrealistic for percentage attendances to be reintroduced in 2021.

Will fans be back in 2021?

And if we're going to be glass-half-full about that prospect, then here at GIVEMESPORT, we couldn't resist discussing the current 2020 Premier League arenas that could be filling up again very soon.

Besides, you only have to look at the fans of promoted teams Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham to imagine how itching they'll be to clip their season ticket once again.

Now, if you're a regular around here, you'll know that there's no better tool than tiermaker when it comes to ranking things in football and we couldn't help turning to our old buddy for this task.

We've decided to factor in everything from the upkeep and design of the stadium itself, its significance to English football history to the match-day experience, featuring atmosphere.

Ranking Premier League stadiums

We've inserted the 20 Premier League stadiums into the usual graphic, ranking them into tiers ranging from 'God tier' to 'demolish ground' - check out our final standings down below:

Demolish ground

London Stadium and Turf Moor

Ok, demolish is a tad harsh and we certainly don't want the London Stadium flattened for athletics events, but it doesn't take an expert to realise it wasn't built with football fans in mind.

And although Turf Moor might well be Jordan North's happy place, even he must admit that it's one of the sorrier stadiums in the Premier League and Burnley are certainly deserving of an upgrade.

Boring

St. Mary's Stadium, The Hawthorns, The Amex Stadium and Emirates Stadium

Southampton are the most egregious example of 'let's make a symmetrical bowl and paint it the colour of the club that owns it', which is the single thing I hate most about modern football grounds.

The Hawthorns and Amex have a little bit more in the way of character without really setting the world alright, while the Emirates, albeit comfortable, lacks both originality and atmosphere.

Better than most

Selhurst Park, King Power Stadium, Stamford Bridge, Molineux, Bramall Lane and Etihad Stadium

Is the King Power also one big boring bowl? Yes, yes it is, but the Leicester fans have pushed it up a tier by way of creating one of the Premier League's finest atmospheres.

We're using the same logic for Selhurst Park because it's admittedly on the tired side, while Bramall Lane and Molineux are classic English grounds that are amongst the best without ever being one.

We'd like to place the Etihad much higher because it's a class stadium, but no awards for guessing why it finishes here, while the character of Stamford Bridge makes it the top performer in this tier.

Cracking day out

Old Trafford, Villa Park, Craven Cottage and Goodison Park

Say what you like about the atmosphere, but Old Trafford is one of English football's most iconic cathedrals and continues to top the capacity of much newer and fancier stadiums built since.

As for Villa Park, it's without a doubt one of the most underrated stadiums in the Premier League and you know you're in trouble as an opposing side when the gargantuan Holt End gets singing.

Meanwhile, Craven Cottage and Goodison Park share a lot in common by way of throwing us back to the heyday of English football with character by the spade. They don't make them like this anymore.

God tier

Anfield, St. James' Park, Elland Road and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Do I actually need to explain why the absolute pilgrimage sites of Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle's homes have been selected here? Prestige, character, atmosphere... the list goes on.

And while our final selection doesn't even vaguely compete in terms of history, I think we can all agree that it's deserving of a slot by arguably being the best stadium in all of football right now.

Final graphic

Hopefully, fans will return soon... if it's safe

If this list hasn't made you want to walk to your local football stadium, cheering for your team with a scarf in one hand and a bovril in the other, then I simply don't know what will.

We really are blessed in the Premier League to have 20 stadiums that, on the whole, are truly world-class and most importantly of all, mean something special to the fans that frequent them.

It's become a cliche to say that football is nothing without the fans and while that might not be true in a literal sense, I think we can all agree that it's ten times better with them filling the stands.