Midweek Effect on Soccer Performance: Evidence From the German Bundesliga

Abstract

The home advantage phenomenon is a well‐established feature in sports competitions. In this study, we examine data from 2,013 soccer matches played in the German Bundesliga during the seasons from 2007–2008 to 2016–2017. Using a very rich data set, our econometric analysis that is based on matching methods reveals that the usual home advantage disappears when the game is in the middle of the week instead of being on the weekend. Our results indicate that, as the midweek matches are unevenly allocated among teams, the actual schedules of the Bundesliga favor teams with fewer home games in midweek. The study also shows that these soccer‐specific findings may have some implications for the design of contests in general. (JEL D00, L00, D20, Z20)

Seasonal Home Advantage in English Professional Football; 1973-2018

“…The main conclusion is that home advantage depends on the support of the crowd because referee decisions tend to be biased in favor of the home team. Krumer and Lechner (2018) find that in the German Bundesliga clubs lose the home advantage they enjoy in the weekend, when they play midweek. This is attributed to a smaller stadium crowd and the psychological effect that players consider midweek matches less relevant.…”

Home-bias in referee decisions: Evidence from “Ghost Matches” during the Covid19-Pandemic

“…We also add a full set of referee and team fixed effects. Finally, we control for the pre-Covid19 average audience in the hometeam's stadium and weekday-dummies (see Krumer and Lechner, 2017). 3…”

Home-Bias in Referee Decisions: Evidence from 'Ghost Matches' During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…47 referees. In addition, we control for a stadium's average audience and add weekday-dummies (see Krumer and Lechner, 2017). Finally, we add a comprehensive set of controls for in-match player behavior.…”