Abstract
This study aimed to examine how playing at home affects individual football performance in the top five European leagues (LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Premier League, and Ligue 1) using offensive and defensive statistics. A secondary goal was to determine if these performance differences vary by field position. Offensive variables (season goals, assists, and key passes per game) and defensive variables (tackles, interceptions, and fouls per game) were analysed over eight seasons for 4337 players. Significant differences were found between home and away matches, particularly in goals (p < 0.001), assists (p < 0.001), and key passes (p < 0.001), all of which were higher at home. Defensive metrics like interceptions and fouls showed no significant differences, though tackles were higher away (p = 0.013). A positional analysis revealed that forwards and midfielders had significantly more goals (p < 0.001 for both) and assists (p = 0.008 for forwards, p = 0.029 for midfielders) at home. Defenders also had significantly more goals (p < 0.001) and assists (p < 0.001), while committing fewer fouls at home (p = 0.005). These findings suggest that playing at home significantly boosts individual performance, especially in offensive metrics. Coaches should adjust strategies based on if the match is at home or away, while considering individual player strengths and positions.
Abraham Duarte
Full Professor
Abraham Duarte is Full Professor in the Computer Science Department at the Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid, Spain). He has done extensive research in the interface between computer science, artificial intelligence, and operations research to develop solution methods based on Computational Intelligence (metaheuristics) for practical problems in operations-management areas such as logistics and supply chains, telecommunications, decision-making under uncertainty and optimization of simulated systems.
Jesús Sánchez-Oro
Associate Professor
Associate Professor at the Computer Science Department, being one of the senior researchers of the Group for Research on Algorithms For Optimization GRAFO.