There are still the mainstream detractors who mock the sport’s lack of scoring and injury embellishments. But there are also these important facts concerning the English Premier League: While other sports (looking at you, baseball) have shrunk in popularity, the television ratings in America for EPL soccer games have increased yearly to an average of nearly 500,000 viewers last season, with an audience that skews young. A record 1.41 million people tuned in to NBC in November to watch Arsenal against Manchester United, in a game that aired at 8 a.m. on the West Coast. The characters have become familiar to even the casual fans, from Jose Mourinho to Arsene Wegner to Wayne Rooney to Tim Howard to Sergio Aguero. And let’s face it, early risers: what else is there to watch early on weekends now that Saturday morning cartoons are dead? A good London or Manchester derby beats the third rerun of “SportsCenter.”To break down the upcoming season and some of its story lines, we enlisted the help of EPL legend and current New York City Football Club midfielder Frank Lampard. During his 20 seasons at West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester City, Lampard scored more goals than all but…