Assessing Football Team Form Part 2

In this series, we delve in-depth into analysing team form.  Being able to assess team form helps you to make a number of predictions heading into a football match.  It can help you to determine which team will win, what the end score might be, and which players are likely to score first.  In my first installment (Assessing Football Team Form, Part 1), I talked about three important factors to consider when you are analysing team form: players, managers, and play style.  Now I will talk about a few more.

Travel

Travel is a huge factor in player fatigue.  A team that has been playing home game games and games close by will not be nearly as tired as a team that is playing European matches and travelling from country to country.  This can be a factor both for games that have already passed (European games before yours), and for matches that are coming up soon.

Similarly, you will want to pay close attention to the impact of international breaks.  Certain players, especially key players, will sometimes go away on international duty and skip home games in order to represent their countries in foreign cup games.  Their absence can have a huge adverse impact on team form.  When they return, they can be especially tired from the games as well as the extensive travel involved, and they may also bring injuries with them.  This can continue to dampen performance.  On top of that, they may have missed out on training with their team for a week or more.  When this happens, there can be other problems which develop with game play.  You will want to watch out for this, especially with teams that have a number of internationals.

Game History

It is worth it to take a look at previous times that the teams playing have met, but you have to take what you find worth a grain of salt sometimes.  Why?  Lots can change.  Player and manager changes and even changes to the rules may render game history irrelevant, or at least less relevant, in certain situations.  Pay close attention to the details!

Also look at the history of recent performance for each team against others.  Do not just look at wins or losses.  Check out how many goals each team has been averaging at home and away. 

Home vs. Away

Finally, consider the location for this specific match.  Which team is travelling?  Are they strong performers on the road, or do they tend to weaken when they are away from home?  How will this potentially impact the match?

Any one of these factors can be enough to weigh the outcome of the match in favor of one team or the other.  When you combine them, you can see how much complexity is at play at any given time.  To help you keep track of the variables, my next instalment (Assessing Football Team Form Part 3) will include a checklist to follow.