It is fair to say that the current football season, and the close of the previous one, have been different to anything else ever seen. 

It has affected every aspect of the game, from how we watch to the time games take place, what days they are on, and ultimately it seems to have affected results. 

A league such as the Premier League where no fans are allowed at all right now offers a fair and simple platform to compare games on. 

We are seeing more games won by away teams than home at the moment, with no fans seemingly the reason for this. 

The story of away wins so far

With 88 Premier League games having been played this season, we are almost a quarter of the way through. 

The majority of games have ended in an away win – 43 per cent. This compares to 38 per cent of games which have been won by the home team, and a 19 per cent have ended in a draw. 

Looking back over the years, this shows a big increase in the number of away wins. Last season the figure was 31 per cent, a year earlier it was 34 per cent and in 17/18 it was just 28 per cent. 

So, if your team is playing away from home in an empty stadium, they appear to have more chance of winning than if they were playing against a home crowd. This will be especially of value to football gamblers, who wager on games from big leagues each week. 

This can really shape the bets that are placed with bookmakers such as those listed on newbettingoffers.co.uk who accept football bets from customers. It will also force bookmakers to look at their odds and see how they can adjust them with this in mind. Away wins are traditionally not wagered as much as home wins – is it time to change this old-fashioned approach given the new climate? 

Does the best team win more often?

When you take away things such as fans, pressure on players, support for smaller teams and much more, football boils down to 11 vs 11 on the field. This is what we are seeing now, and in this case, is it simply that the best teams will win more often?

A small team may be able to cause an upset in a competition like the FA Cup, and when this happens, we usually see pictures of their fans celebrating in the sports news. Those fans have no doubt helped, without them, this is less likely to happen. 

But without their backing and inside an empty stadium with no atmosphere, does the game change completely?

Variables can all affect the chances of something happening, football is no different. Away wins, and the best team winning are both more likely when there are less variables in place to change that. 

It seems this is exactly what we have right now in leagues where no fans are in attendance, and it will be fascinating to see how this plays out over the rest of the season. 

Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk/

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