A new poster showing members of the Manchester City team celebrating has been placed at the entrance to the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England to celebrate Manchester City winning the Premier League title on April 16, 2018. Pep Guardiola's side were crowned kings of English football yesterday as their arch rivals Manchester United slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat against struggling West Bromwich Albion. / AFP PHOTO / Paul ELLIS / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)
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Home stadium key to victory in Premier League

Ricardo Avila Alvarez |
Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, home to Manchester City. (PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Teams need to take advantage of their home stadium in order to win games and titles. Analyzing the last six Premier League seasons, it’s evident that home-field advantage is statistically relevant.  

In the Premier League, teams play 38 games - 19 home, 19 away. In the 2011-12 Premier League season, there were 115 games won by the visitors, 92 ties and 173 games won by the home team. This means teams playing at home won 45% of the time, compared to 30% of the visiting teams. Manchester City, which won the league title that year, won 18 games at home, drawing only one.

In the 2012-13 season, the visiting team won 105 games, there were 107 ties, and the home team won 168. This means teams playing at home won 44% of the time, compared to 28% of the visiting teams. The league winner, Manchester United,  won 16 at home and lost 3.  

In the 2013-14 season, the visiting team won 122 games, with 77 ties and 181 wins for the home team. This means teams playing at home won 47% of the time, compared to 32% of the visiting teams.  Manchester City, returning to the league championship again, won 17 at home, tied one and lost one of their 38 total games.

In the 2014-15 season, the visiting team won 114 games, with 92 ties and 174 wins for the home team. This means the teams playing at home won 46% of the time, compared to 30% of the visiting teams. The team that won the title, Chelsea, was undefeated at home. Out of those 38 games, they won 15 at home and tied four.  

In the 2015-16 season, the visiting team won 114 games, with 106 ties and 160 wins for the home team. This means the teams playing at home won 42% of the times, compared to 30% of the visiting teams. Leicester City, the surprise champion, won 12, tied 6 and lost one at home.

In the 2016-17 season, the visiting team won 108 games, with 83 ties and 189 wins for the home team. This means the teams playing at home won nearly 50% of their games, compared to 28% of the visiting teams. In Chelsea’s return to the top of the table, they won 17 at home, losing only two.  

Home field advantage in the Premier League is a fact. Of the six season champions, their home winning percentages were 47%, 42%, 45%, 39%, 31%, 45%. And the visiting team win percentages: 26%, 31%, 26%, 29%, 26%, 34%.

The clear difference in results indicates that Premier League home stadium advantage is real and verifiable.  

Ricardo  Avila Alvarez is a graduate journalism student at Arizona State University.

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