This article was published as a chapter in the FC Barcelona Innovation Hub Football Analytics Guide, 2020. The Guide is freely available for download by filling out the online form here. Links to other work cited in this chapter are given at the end. Formations are the foundations of tactics in football. They provide structure to a team that helps the players to position themselves and broadly defines their specific roles in attack and defence. They are the means through which managers attempt to maintain control of high-value territory while denying their opponents the same.  Th ..read more

By Andrew Puopolo, @andrew_puopolo While it pales in comparison to the many societal, economic and public health challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, the football world is grappling with the challenge of determining a suitable and equitable way for completing the remainder of their seasons. UEFA have recently published guidelines stating that "if a domestic competition is prematurely terminated for legitimate reasons" the procedure adopted by a National Association for selecting clubs for participation in 20/21 UEFA tournaments should be "based on objective, transpa ..read more

I recently presented a research paper at the FC Barcelona Sports Analytics Summit on detecting and analysing team formations using tracking data. I thought it would be nice to publish a shorter version here. The work, which was awarded the "best research paper" prize at the conference, was done in collaboration with Mark Glickman at the Harvard Sports Analytics Lab. Too long? You can take a look at the poster version here, or the cartoon version here. Introduction A vital aspect of a football manager’s job is to select team formations – the spatial configuration of the players on the fie ..read more

In the 2018 January transfer window, Manchester United signed Alexis Sanchez on a four-and-a-half year contract. He had just turned 29, which is towards the end of the peak years for an elite forward. Yet Ed Woodward made him the highest paid player in the country, offering him a reported £350,000 per week, which equates to £18.2 million per year, or £82 million over the duration of the contract (before bonuses and signing-on fee). United have undoubtedly received a spectacularly poor return on their acquisition. Granted, Sanchez has had his fair share of injuries, but it is clear that Unit ..read more

The Manchester derby on Wednesday will go a long way towards determining the outcome of the English Premier League title race this season. Liverpool are two points ahead of Manchester City, having played a game more. After Wednesday, both teams have three matches remaining: Liverpool play relegated Huddersfield at home, then Newcastle away (who are now safe from relegation), ending the season by hosting Wolves at Anfield; City play Burnley away, Leicester at home and then Brighton away. City are expected to win their last three matches, so Liverpool fans will be desperate for United to av ..read more