Comparison of Running and Accelerometry Variables based on Match Outcome, Location and Quality of Opponent in Elite Professional Soccer Players. A 5-Season Study

Soccer is a sport characterized by intermittent play, marked by brief episodes of high-intensity actions such as sprinting, changing direction, accelerating, decelerating, jumping, and tackling, interspersed with longer durations of low-intensity activity. These high-intensity efforts have been demonstrated to create pivotal moments in the match, including goals, assists, and defensive plays, underscoring their significance in soccer performance and overall match results. Research indicates that both running performance and match outcomes are affected by various contextual factors (e.g., match location, quality of the opposition, match status, etc.). It has been posited that the location of the match (i.e., whether it's played at home or away) influences numerous elements of the game, with evidence supporting the notion of a home advantage in soccer where home teams typically exhibit a quicker playing tempo, employ more aggressive strategies, and engage in a greater number of attacking plays. Furthermore, when considering both match location and the quality of the opposition, the quality of the opposing team has a more significant impact on the style of play adopted than the location of the match itself.

This research aimed to analyze external match load, particularly focusing on running at specific thresholds and explosive movements (accelerations and decelerations), in relation to match outcomes (win, draw, loss), match locations (home, away), and the quality of opponents over five competitive seasons. The researchers utilized a five-year longitudinal study design to investigate a single male professional team. During the study period, the team participated in both the EPL and ECL. The EPL consists of 38 matches, with 19 played at home and 19 away over a 10-month season, starting in August and concluding in May. In contrast, the ECL includes 46 matches, with 23 at home and 23 away, occurring within the same timeframe and calendar year. The study team achieved promotion at the conclusion of the 2020/21 season, thus the analyzed data included three ECL seasons (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21) and two EPL seasons (2021/22 and 2022/23).

The team under examination primarily employed the 4-3-3 formation during games. All players involved were categorized according to their usual playing positions established at the beginning of each season, which remained unchanged throughout the duration of the study: Centre backs (n = 13), full backs (n = 6), centre midfielders (n = 15), attacking midfielders (n = 8), and centre forwards (n = 4). In alignment with the 4-3-3 structure, the three midfielders were organized into two deeper positions with both defensive and offensive roles, while the third operated just behind the centre forward with minimal defensive responsibilities, thus being designated as an attacking midfielder. Goalkeepers were omitted from this analysis because of the unique nature of their match involvement and the relatively low running demands placed upon them. For each game, the lead researcher documented the result (win, draw, loss), venue (home, away), and the caliber of the opponent (top or bottom six teams, mid-table teams, comprising 12 in the ECL and eight in the EPL) over five competitive seasons. The classification of opponent quality was determined based on their final league ranking from the previous season. The external match load was systematically tracked throughout the study seasons for all matches using an 18 Hz Global Positioning System (GPS) technology tracking system (Apex Pod, version 4.03, 50 g, 88 × 33 mm; Statsports; Northern Ireland, UK).

Players exhibited a marked increase in m/min and engaged in more decelerations when competing against the top six teams in contrast to mid-table or bottom six teams (p < 0.001; d = 0.213–0.322). No variations in external match load were observed based on the outcome of the match. There were notable interactions between opponent, outcome, and match location for each position across most external match load metrics, although the degree of these differences varied for specific measurements and positions (p = 0.001–0.048; d = 0.300–1.741). The current study offered new insights regarding external match load and the effects of match outcome, location, and opponent quality. This could aid in enhancing training approaches to better equip players to handle diverse situations.

In summary, external match load factors were affected by playing position and contextual elements such as match outcome, location, and opponent quality. The aspects of playing position, match result, location, and the caliber of the opponent significantly influenced total distance, high-speed running, and sprinting, whether playing at home or away against top, middle, or bottom six teams. Furthermore, the match result also impacted these external match load factors. Coaches and performance personnel can leverage these contextual insights to effectively prepare and rehabilitate players, taking into account match outcome, location, and opponent quality. However, it is clear that there are distinct outcomes when analyzed independently. Therefore, future studies should seek to broaden the current findings across various contexts, competitive levels, age groups, and different leagues and nations.

Reference

Morgans, R., Radnor, J., Fonseca, J., Rhodes, D., Ryan, B., King, M., Zmijewski, P., and Oliveira, R. (2025) ‘Comparison of running and accelerometry variables based onmatch outcome, match location and quality of opponent in eliteprofessional soccer players. A five-season study’, Biology of Sport, available: https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2024.136092.